


Dusk till Dawn

by Infinity_on_high



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-05-27 16:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15028466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinity_on_high/pseuds/Infinity_on_high
Summary: So here's my first multi chapter story. It's set after infinity war an Thor, Loki, Valkyrie and even Bruce are enjoying life in Norway on New Asgard, (Very thoughtfully named Asgardia) After returning from a trip with the Guardians, Thor falls ill, from what no one can tell but as the virus grows stronger, Thor grows weaker and Loki works against the clock to figure out what happened whilst Thor was away and what is wrong with his brother. This fic is now complete by the way!!





	1. Chapter 1: Golden afternoons

**Author's Note:**

> So here's my first multi chapter story. Really hope you all like it. Feel free to leave kudos or comments and enjoy the story:)

As the skies grew dark on Asgardia, Loki was standing at the window if his room watching the evening sun set. The sight made him smile, he did prefer the sunrise however. It was like the beginning of something new every day. It didn't make the sunsets any less beautiful though. He heard the boisterous laugh of his brother in the distance and moments later he caught sight of said brother coming closer and closer into view. He was accompanied by one of the Guardians who called himself Starlord, though everyone just called him Quill. On Thor's left was Valkyrie. Thor had an arm around both of them and all three were smiling. When Loki saw the bottle in Thor's left hand that was slung over Valkyrie's shoulder he knew that they'd most likely been out drinking. 

Moments later Loki heard the door slam and heavy footsteps bounding up the stairs and down the halls. It sounded like a herd of bilgesnipes. Loki stifled his laughter when he heard Thor fall over on the stairs and hit the ground with a thud. There was a small groan of pain and then a loud giggle. Yes his brother was definitely drunk. Loki couldn't even hold back his smile when Thor finally found him after checking every other room and not thinking to check the room that they shared first. 

When Thor entered he stumbled a little but smiled at the sight of his younger sibling. He gave a clumsy wave and practically threw himself on the large bed. After getting himself comfortable Thor turned his head to face Loki, who was still watching him with a rather amused look on his face.   
"Hello brother, what have you been up to today?" Thor said slurring his words slightly. Loki rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed sitting on the edge,  
"You, dear brother, are rather drunk." Loki stated as if it wasn't already obvious. Thor merely laughed again,  
"Little bit." He replied, using his finger and thumb to emphasise his point.

Loki rolled his eyes again and this time Thor saw,  
"Hey it wasn't entirely my fault, after a meeting with the Guardians we walked around the city for a while until we came across a tavern, Brunhilde challenged me to a drinking contest and obviously I wasn't going to refuse a challenge so I accepted and...I lost horribly." Thor finished with a very annoyed look on his face that made Loki smirk,  
"In that case Thor it is your fault for thinking you could beat Brunhilde in a drinking contest. Everytime we see her she's carrying a bottle with some form of alcohol in it, how in earth did you think you could possibly win?" Loki wasn't entirely mocking Thor, he was genuinely curious as to what made Thor think he could win such an impossible challenge.

Thor must've felt really stupid after hearing Loki speak because the only response Loki got was a shrug of his shoulders. After repeating what Thor had told him in his head another question appeared in Loki's mind,  
"What we're you meeting with the Guardians for?"   
After Loki questioned Thor, it was suddenly like the alcohol had left his body entirely and he'd returned completely sober in the blink of an eye. Loki's curiosity turned into mild concern when Thor completley deflated like a balloon. Well this doesn't sound good. Were they under threat again? Dread enveloped Loki as he waited patiently for Thor to respond.

Thor met loki's gaze and he spoke,  
"Well, you know that the Guardians are leaving tomorrow." Loki simply nodded his head knowing that there was more to the story.  
"Well when they go back into space, their first destination is Xandar, they're going to help the few survivors relocate to Vanaheim. Quill said they'll be safe there, as it is a friendly land."   
Loki moved so that he was lying next to his brother,  
"And how do you fit into this? He questioned.  
Thor sighed,  
"They want me to go with them."

Loki was all kinds of confused and Thor saw that he was about to protest so he quickly spoke again,  
"They're tired Loki. After everything with Thanos and helping us rebuild Asgard on Midgard. The last thing they want is to go through another challenging battle where someone could lose their life. They asked me to go with them in case there is any major threat and I have the Stormbreaker in case I need it. No to blow my own trumpet but you've seen how powerful it is, I almost killed Thanos with it even when he had all six infinity stones. If there is any threat on Vanaheim then they will be no match for the Stormbreaker. It's not like I'll be gone too long, a couple of weeks at the most, I've been gone longer than that in the past." 

Loki crossed his arms over his chest looking deep in thought. Finally he looked back at Thor,  
"I'm coming with you." He said daring Thor to protest, he did.  
"You can't Loki, you must remain here." Thor replied just as firm. Loki glared at Thor and was about to speak again when Thor cut in before he could,  
"Someone needs to watch over Asgardia whilst I'm gone, I may be their king but they're our people. I know you can do it, you ruled for years when you posed as our father and it seemed like you did a fine job. So please brother, stay here and look after our people." 

Loki held his glare on Thor for a few moments before sighing in frustration. He knew that Thor was right. Gods he hated it when his brother proved him wrong. But he really didn't like the idea of Thor dissapearing to a whole other realm for a number of days, being away from him for that long. When he felt Thor place an arm around his shoulders he relaxed into it and placed his own arm over Thor's chest, ignoring the faint smell of alcohol still present. They stayed like that for many minutes when Thor spoke again,  
"Do not worry for me brother, I'm only going in case there's trouble which is unlikely anyway, I'll be gone for a couple of weeks and then I shall return to you. I promise."

Loki had no doubt that Thor would at least try to stay true to his word. He sat up for a second and with a click of his fingers the light was out. He leaned back into his brother's embrace and after a few seconds Thor fell asleep silently snoozing. Loki carefully released himself from Thor's hold and left the room. He wandered into the kitchen and started looking through the cupboards. He almost had a heart attack when someone behind him made their presence known,  
"Looking for this?"   
Whirling around to face the one who had managed to sneak up on the God of Mischief, Loki was instantly relieved to see Valkyrie sitting at a table surrounded by empty bottles. She was holding a bucket in her hand with her arm outstretched to Loki. She smirked at Loki's reaction, making him scowl.

"Well? Do you want it or not?" She asked though she didn't sound impatient, just tired. Wiping the scowl off his face Loki walked towards her and took the bucket from her hands,  
"Thank you." He said. She shrugged in return,  
"I have no doubt his majesty will need it in the morning or sometime in the night, he really did drink quite alot tonight. Ah well if he ends up with a raging hangover it's his own fault. I mean seriously he thought he could beat me in a drinking contest? I honestly wasn't expecting him to accept."  
Loki raised his eyebrows at her,  
"Yes well, be careful about how you talk to Thor, my brother isn't one to shy away from a challenge. If he wakes up tomorrow with a hangover and I have no doubt he will, then I'll blame you regardless. He's leaving on a mission tomorrow and I'd rather he didn't leave on a spaceship feeling nauseous and dizzy to the point of passing out."

Valkyrie took a sip from the almost empty bottle in front of her then she spoke,  
"Yes I was there when he met with the Guardians I already know everything and so does Bruce, we'll help you the best we can in the king's absence, my prince." She finished with and exaggerated bow of her head. Loki suppressed the urge to roll his eyes again and just firmly grasped the bucket in his hands.  
"Thank you, your help is much appreciated, goodnight Brunhilde."   
And with that he left the room but not before he heard her shout,  
"Night Lackey!"   
That time he did roll his eyes.

When he entered their room again, Thor was exactly how he'd left him. Loki walked to Thor's side of the bed and placed the bucket on the floor beside his head. Then he moved to his own side and climbed in next to his brother, like before he placed an arm over Thor's chest and buried his face into Thor's shoulder. Come tomorrow and they would be seperated again. Only for a couple of weeks Thor said and Loki did believe him, but Loki always trusted his instinct over anything else and his instinct was telling him that something was going to go wrong. Those thoughts vanished however when Thor subconsciously pulled him closer and Loki soon also succumbed to sleep.

The next morning was eventful to say the least, just as Loki predicted, Thor had a raging hangover. Thor was very grateful for the bucket placed beside him during the night. Loki decided to leave him be to sleep it off. He headed downstairs where Valkyrie was practically sprawled across the table in a heavy sleep, snoring loudly. Norns at least Thor was quiet, Brunhilde could probably wake the whole of Asgardia with her snoring. Loki silently passed her and started making coffee. One for himself, a large one for Thor and and even larger one for the passed out Valkyrie. She startled awake when Loki turned the coffee machine on and almost fell off the table. Loki smirked. Payback.

Brunhilde snarled at Loki when she came to her senses but the look left her face when she saw what he was doing. A couple of minutes later Loki placed a steaming mug in front of her. She nodded her thanks and Loki took the other two mugs upstairs with him. When he re-entered the room, Thor was dressed but still lying on the bed with his eyes screwed shut. He didn't even seem to notice Loki as he placed the drink on the bedside table and climbed back onto the bed sipping his own before placing it to his own bedside table. After a few minutes they both fell asleep again.

Later in the afternoon, Thor finally managed to sit up without his dizziness forcing him back down and he discovered that Loki was already gone. Thor started to gather the essentials that he felt he would need for the trip to Vanaheim. He managed to fit it all into a small sack which he flung over his back. Thor lifted Stormbreaker from the corner of the room and walked out.

By the time he was outside the Guardians were already readying the ship to set off,  
"About time!!" Rocket snapped from the front of the ship. Thor held up his hands in surrender,  
"I apologise my friends, I lost track of time is all."   
Gamora waved it off,  
"Ignore him Thor, we haven't been waiting that long. We really appreciate you coming with us, I know that the last thing you must want right now is to leave your people."  
Thor shook his head and smiled,  
"It's fine, I trust my brother to watch Asgardia whilst I'm away and not get into trouble. My people are in safe hands." 

Loki was actually coming up behind Thor as he replied to Gamora. With a smirk he said,  
"Leaving without saying goodbye brother, I'm hurt." Thor turned around with a smile, he dropped the Stormbreaker and walked towards his brother enveloping him in a hug. Loki yelped in surprise but returned the hug nonetheless.  
"I'll be back before you know it, until then at least try to stay out of trouble."   
Loki smiled and pulled back,  
"Must you spoil all my fun brother?"   
Thor shook his head,  
"You know what I mean Loki." 

Quill shouted to them both from the ship,  
"Thor buddy we gotta go."   
Loki stopped smiling and Thor sighed heavily.   
"Looks like I'm off." Thor picked up Stormbreaker again and Loki grabbed his hand before Thor could walk away,  
"Please be careful."   
Thor smiled again and patted Loki's shoulder affectionately,  
"Always am. I'll see you soon Loki." 

"You two make me nauseous." That came from Rocket who received a slap on the back of the head from Gamora. Thor boarded the ship with the rest of the Guardians and took one last long look out the window to his brother. He waved to him and Loki waved back. The engines came to life and the ship rose up from the ground. A split second later the ship shot away and was out of sight.


	2. Chapter 2: Coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor keeps his promise and returns home. A week early. But it doesn't take long for Loki to realise something's wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two, happy reading :)

Loki was bored. He had complete control over Asgardia in Thor's absence and he could do anything he desired without his brother knowing. Yet Loki didn't feel like causing mischief. The idea simply didn't appeal to the God of Mischief. If Thor was here, Loki had no doubt that he would be causing chaos worse than Sakaar. And that was the problem. Loki just felt bored without Thor around. It just didn't feel right. Loki sighed and rubbed his temple, it wasn't until Thor was gone that he realised how attached he really was to Thor. It probably wasn't normal for your brother to be your best friend or in Loki's case, only friend. But Loki really missed Thor. He'd only left with the Guardians a week ago and there was still another week left to go before he returned. Loki sighed again, norns he really needed to find something to do. There was no one to talk to, Korg and Valkyrie were at the school entertaining the children and he tried to avoid Bruce or the hulk as best he could.

After mindlessly wandering around the large house occasionally peering into a room and popping out again a second later, in the end Loki decided to visit the libary, he curled up in his favourite chair near the back of the room, next to a window. The book that he'd been reading a few days ago was laying open face down on the little table in front of him. Picking up the book, Loki resumed where he'd left off. 

After an hour and a half Loki finished the book and placed it in its rightful place on the shelves. But he didn't leave, he just curled back up in the chair and closed his eyes. He allowed himself to think for a while, but he didn't allow himself to fall asleep. The silence, though relaxing, was strange all the same. It was very rare that the atmosphere was this quiet and Loki decided to indulge the peacefulness and sounds of the whistling summer breeze seeping through the open window. The silence didn't last long.

Loki snapped his eyes open as a loud sound coming from outside grew louder and louder with every second. He almost fell out of his chair as a loud crash erupted from outside. The ground shook with the force of impact. Darting over to the window, Loki pressed his hands against the glass and instantly saw what was now blocking his sunlight. A spaceship. Not just any ship either, the Guardians spaceship. Loki's eyebrows narrowed in shock and confusion. What happened to their ship? Why were they back so early? _Thor._ Concern flooded through Loki and he bolted from the library and almost slipped as he ran through the halls. 

At the bottom of the stairs he was greeted by Valkyrie, Korg and the hulk, who had now returned. Korg turned and waved at Loki,  
"Hey man, did you hear that huge crash?"  
Loki ignored the Kronan and ran past them both. He heard footsteps following behind him and they were quickly catching up. Loki didnt stop running but he turned his head to see Valkyrie with a worried expression on her face. When she caught up to Loki they both made it outside where the Guardians were exiting the ship groaning and grasping the injured parts of their bodies. There was smoke billowing from the back of the ship. When the two saw Quill they ran up to him,  
"What happened?!" Valkyrie shouted.  
Quill jumped at her voice and he grimaced at the sudden movement of his body. There was a nasty looking gash on his head and some bruising on his cheek. Drax left the ship next with a rather haunted look on his face. When he was on the ground, he held his hands out to Gamora to help her down too, then Mantis, then Nebula. All of them looked pretty roughed up. Rocket and Groot hadn't come down yet, neither had Thor. After receiving no response to Brunhilde's question, Loki grew impatient and asked again,  
"Quill what happened!?"

It was Rocket who responded however when he shouted from inside the ship,  
"It's a long story but worry about it later, in the mean time could you give me a hand up here? Your brother ain't the easiest person to lift you know!!"  
Lift? Why would they need to lift him? Loki wasted no time in entering the ship to see what the racoon was talking about. Loki did a double take when he found the three remaining passengers at the back of the ship. Lying across a table was Thor, who was unconscious. There was blood flowing from his nose where he'd most likely hit his head as there was a bruise forming there as well. Rocket was standing on the table beside Thor's head and Groot was leaning over his body in sheer curiosity. The tree didn't seem badly injured, Rocket however had a large burn leading up his right arm. The fur in that area completley gone. That made Loki even more curious, what had happened here?

Loki was by his brother's side in an instant, shaking him and lightly slapping his cheeks in a feeble attempt to wake him.  
"Thor? Brother! Wake up! Rocket what happened?!" Rocket sighed through clenched teeth as he gripped the injury on his arm.  
"Like I said, it's a long story, we need to get him off the ship."  
Loki knew this but between the three of them, none of them had the physical strength to carry Thor off the ship. He panicked as he tried to think how to move Thor without hurting him.

It turns out, they didn't have to. With a loud roar, the top of the ship was ripped clean off and they all looked up to see that Hulk had climbed onto the roof of the ship.  
"FRIEND!!" Hulk roared and jumped inside the ship forcing the three to step back from Thor as Hulk surrounded him with his large body.  
"FRIEND HURT!!! FRIEND WAKE UP!!"  
Loki was tempted to intervene before the Hulk could start shaking Thor and damaging him further. But Hulk did none of that, instead he lowered the volume of his grumbling and slid his giant hands underneath Thor and slowly, gently, lifted him from the table. Once Hulk had Thor secured in his arms, he leapt from the ship and landed rather gracefully on the ground. Well, graceful for the Hulk anyways. Loki just watched in complete shock and awe at the scene that just unfolded before his eyes. He'd never seen that display from the Hulk before, never seen him be so gentle. Loki knew that Hulk had a softer spot for his friends, more specifically his fellow Avengers. But the Hulk actually looked scared when he saw Thor. That kind if reaction from the Hulk just didn't seem natural. It was then that Loki considered there may be more to the big green monster then he let on. 

After coming down from the ship with a helping hand from Drax, Loki instantly dashed off to see where the Hulk had taken his brother. He didn't have to look long, he found them in the lounge, but it wasn't the Hulk who greeted him, it was Banner. Loki didnt question how Banner had managed to take control over Hulk so quickly but it seemed as if the Hulk knew Thor needed medical attention, he wasn't the only one either as Quill and Gamora were sitting not too far away, Quill holding an ice pack over his cheek whilst Gamora cleaned the gash on his head. When Banner saw Loki, he nodded to him and moved to the right revealing his brother's unconscious form. Thor was laying on the couch whilst Banner checked his body for broken bones. 

Seconds later they were accompanied by the rest of the Guardians and Valkyrie. Drax was carrying Thor's Stormbreaker and he placed it by the door. When Banner confirmed that Thor just had a bang on the head and there was no major injuries, Loki relaxed and went to sit with his brother, taking his hand into his own. Banner moved on to Rocket and began assessing the burn on his arm. The racoon was injected with some form of painkiller and then Banner started to clean he wound and wrap it up. Banner suddenly spoke to no one in particular, the question that Loki had on his mind back on the ship,  
"So how'd you get a nasty burn like this in a crash?"  
Loki's eyes darted to rocket silently demanding answers as to what happened.

When Banner finished bandaging the wound, he pulled up a chair and everyone waited for someone to explain what had happened. Rocket sighed in frustration as he knew he'd have to explain everything. Leaning back in his chair Rocket began, 

"So we'd already arrived on Xandar five days ago, we had to take a couple of trips from there to Vanaheim as we couldn't fit everyone on the ship. It took two days to get everyone across safely. We stayed for a while to make sure that the people settled. That was Thor's idea by the way. Even though we predicted there was a very slim chance of trouble, we were once again unlucky. Some assholes in spacepods started invading the place. I thought that the bastards would leave when they saw Thor, but Thor wasn't there, he was gone. I thought he was behind us a second ago but he must've got seperated from the group. We were greatly outnumbered but we still won the fight. 

After that was done with I wanted to give your idiot brother a piece of my mind, but we couldn't see him anywhere. The group split to search for him until me and Groot finally found him. We found him in a cave. Curled up in a ball, shivering. Poor guy was bearly conscious when we found him and when I called Quill over, Thor passed out. I have no clue what happened for him to end up in such a state, like I said I thought he'd been with us the whole time so we didn't see him walk into the cave and we didn't see what happened to him. After we got him back on the ship he was still shaking alot so we all came to the conclusion to get him to doctor. He stayed unconscious throughout the night until we got Mantis to wake him up the next day. He didn't say anything when he woke up, he just kept staring at the wall and shaking, it was pretty unsettling."

Loki listened to every word, his worry for Thor growing tenfold. He wasn't the only one, everyone had rather unsettled looks on their faces. Suddenly he felt the hand he was holding squeeze his own and Loki looked down to see that Thor was waking up. He squinted a little bit before properly opening his eyes and looking around himself in confusion.  
"Where..where am I?" Thor whispered. Loki squeezed Thor's hand causing Thor to look at him. Thor tilted his head and narrowed his eyebrows,  
"Loki?"  
Loki smiled at his brother,  
"Hey. What have you been up to you daft cow?" He asked in a half chastising, half teasing tone making Thor smile sadly at him in return.  
"Are we back already? How long was I out?" Thor asked. As he spoke, he tried to sit himself up so he could properly face his brother. As he tried to sit up however, Valkyrie intervened,  
"Don't sit up your majesty, you need your rest." She moved towards him about to place a hand on his shoulder to lightly push him back down.  
"ACTUALLY I WOULDN'T..." Rocket started, reaching a hand out to stop her. Too late, Valkyrie pressed down on his shoulder. 

There was a flash of blue as lightning burst from Thor's body and everyone was forced to cover their eyes. Thor let out a loud scream of pain as lightning escaped and covered his body. The same lightning ran up Valkyrie's arm that she'd placed on Thor's shoulder causing her to cry out as well as it burned her skin. The force of the shock sent her flying backwards and she landed on her back. When the lightning ceased after a couple more seconds, Thor was barely conscious.  
"..touch him." Rocket finished with a grimace. Banner was immediately at Brunhilde's side and he helped her stand back up. Like Rocket, she had a large burn on her arm. Bruce quickly began treating it to prevent blistering. 

Loki grabbed Thor's hand again and placed the other hand to the side of his face,  
"Brother are you alright?" Thor weakly nodded his head though it was clear that he was struggling to keep his eyes open.  
"That's how we crashed." Everyone turned their heads to see it was Quill who spoke. Rocket continued,  
"When he woke up I was trying to make sure he was okay, I touched his arm and that happened like you just saw. However our ship is made of metal so the lightning travelled everywhere. Quill lost his focus and we ended up crashing our ship." 

Everyones eyes snapped up to Thor as he spoke next,  
"I'm sorry."  
It was like they were expecting him to have another episode, the way they were looking at Thor made Loki angry. He caressed the side of Thor's face,  
"It wasn't your fault brother."  
Thor just shook his head and closed his eyes.  
"I'm sorry Brunhilde."  
Rocket gave him a sympathetic look and came over to the two Asgardians,  
"Listen to your brother buddy, it wasn't your fault." He reached out to pat Thor's shoulder but halted at the last second remembering the damage it did last time. Rocket sighed and turned away returning to his seat beside Groot. Brunhilde looked at Thor, her eyes saddened at the sight of him. She gave Loki a signal as if to say "Don't worry about it" To which Loki was grateful that she didn't blame Thor and nodded his thanks to her.

Quill suddenly stood up and place the ice pack onto the chair he was sitting on. He took a deep breath before addressing the entire room,  
"Okay, I have to ask, if this isn't his fault, who's fault is it exactly?"  
Loki narrowed his eyes at Quill daring him to say something else. Rocket looked at Quill unimpressed and Gamora slapped the back of his head. Quill raised his hands in defense,  
"Ow! Okay okay that's not what I meant. I don't think that Thor is hurting himself and other people on purpose. But we've all seen now, twice, that everytime we touch this guy his lightning powers go haywire. So if this isn't him, and I'm not saying it is, who is it?" 

The room went silent, almost all of them thinking about what Quill had said. After a few minutes Thor passed out from exhaustion and when Gamora passed Loki a blanket to cover Thor with, that was when Rocket decided to speak,  
"Okay good he's sleeping. Look I don't know what's wrong with Thor, he was fine right up until Vanaheim. I don't know who's responsible for us losing our ship. But this only started after we found him in that cave."

Loki turned his head to face Rocket with a questioning look on his face,  
"So you're saying..?" 

"Whatever's wrong with Thor, I'm willing to bet anything that whatever happened in that cave has something to do with it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed stay tuned for chapter 3:)


	3. Chapter 3: Grey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is trying to find out what happened to Thor in the cave on Vanaheim. Yet Thor doesn't seem to want to recall anything and his condition is only getting worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So here's another chapter! I'll admit I struggled writing this one a little but I hope you appreciate it all the same :)

Sleep proved to be an impossible task for near enough everyone during the night, the Guardians were far too restless so they began working on rebuilding their ship. Loki had left the door unlocked so that they could come to rest when they felt tired enough. It isnt like their house wasn't big enough, Banner and Brunhilde practically lived here. Refusing to leave Thor's side, Loki lay in the couch across from where Thor was sleeping, though he could not fall asleep himself. Rocket's words from before were playing on his mind too much.

_-"I'm willing to bet that whatever happened in that cave has something to do with it."-_

Loki didn't deny that the racoon was on to something, but they wouldn't know what happened to Thor on Vanaheim as long as Thor was asleep. He really didn't want to wake his brother but he'd been asleep for a while now, Loki was growing so impatient for answers he considered waking Thor up. He managed to restrain himself for now but the second Thor woke, Loki would be asking questions.

When the skies began to grow light again Loki decided to pass on sleep as it clearly wasn't going to happen and settled for making coffee to keep himself awake. He had no doubt that the Guardians would need it as well. Loki suddenly heard light footsteps coming up behind him and he twisted his head to see who had entered. It was Brunhilde. When she looked at Loki she didn't havery the usual stoic, slightly annoyed look on her face whenever she usually saw him. She looked down, or tired, it was hard for Loki to tell.

"Do me one as well would you."  
She said as she seated herself at the kitchen table. When Loki saw her rub her now bandaged arm, he winced slightly and rather than responding he just pulled another mug from the cupboard. After a few minutes silence, Loki spoke, still not looking at Valkyrie,  
"I appreciate it, you not blaming Thor for what happened." 

He heard her leave her chair and the footsteps grew closer until she was standing by his side, leaning over the counter,  
"Like I said, don't worry about it. I have no doubt that his majesty will blame himself and I do not wish to make him feel worse than he already does. It was obviously an accident and whilst it did hurt like Hel, I could see that he was in alot more pain than I was. Besides, it'll heal, and if not than it'll leave an awesome scar so, cheers!"  
As she said that, she lifted a mug and clinked it with the one in Loki's hand. She then walked away sipping her coffee and leaving through the open front door and back to the busted ship outside.

Loki didn't bother to hold back his smirk as she left. Even though he would never admit it to her, Loki was rather fond of the Valkyrie, despite her obsession to drinking and her snarky attitude, she was a good friend, to both him and Thor. 

The smirk left his face when he heard a groan from back in the lounge. Loki darted into the room and sure enough, Thor was waking up. Loki was at his side immediately, merely staring at his brother and waiting for him to come to his senses. When he did, his eyes moved around everywhere, scanning the room, trying to remember where he was. When his eyes fell on Loki however, he relaxed instantly. The memories from yesterday came flooding back and Thor smiled at his younger sibling.

Loki couldn't surpress his own smile in return,  
"Good morning."  
Thor hummed and nodded his head. He seemed alot better than yesterday at least. That could only be a good sign. Hopefully.

Thor moved around on the couch, stretching his limbs and yawning loudly. Loki tried extremely hard not to roll his eyes, _well at least someone got a good nights sleep._ When Thor was done stretching, he caught sight of the blanket wrapped around him. Strangely quickly, he threw back the blanket that had covered his body and made to sit up. Loki watched warily in case something happened. No one spoke for about a minute until Loki had to break the silence,  
"How are you brother?" Damn. He'd asked that with more worry in his voice than he'd meant to. Thor looked at him with his eyebrows raised, clearly not expecting that tone in Loki's voice. Loki made a mental note on how long it took for Thor to answer. As well as the fact that Thor didn't look at him when he eventually replied with a short,  
"I'm fine."  
Loki knew Thor well enough to know when his brother was lying to him.

Thor spoke again,  
"How's Brunhilde?" Loki noticed how down Thor sounded when he asked and knew he needed to reassure him,  
"I assure you brother, she is fine and she holds no grudge against you." Thor smiled at Loki's words but even a blind man could see it was forced.  
"And Rocket?" He asked even quieter than before. Loki placed a hand over Thor's arm,  
"He doesn't blame you either, no one does Thor. They just want to understand why it happened."  
Loki didn't push when Thor stayed quiet.

More silence ensued until a loud rumble emerged, from Thor's stomach. Thor blushed slightly and placed a hand over his belly. Loki was looking at him bug eyed for a second until he realised what the problem was and he let out a laugh. He honestly didn't know why he was so surprised. Thor must be starving. 

As Loki stood up again, Thor stood too, with a little more effort.  
"I'll bring it to you Thor, lie back down." Loki said, slightly demanding. Thor whined at that,  
"Come on brother, I've been sleeping ever since I came home and I can barely feel my legs. I'm more than capable of sorting myself out with some food." Not leaving any room for response, Thor wandered into the kitchen. Loki sighed heavily as he watched his brother's retreating form, he really was too stubborn for his own good. 

When Loki joined Thor in the kitchen seconds later, Thor had already had his head in the fridge. When his head reemerged from inside the fridge, he was carrying a carton of eggs. Thor quickly got to work on frying them up whilst Loki watched from his seat at the table. No words were spoken as Thor divided the food between two plates and placed one in front of Loki then sat in the seat next to him. They both ate quietly however Loki would cast a glance in Thor's direction every few seconds. Gods when did he become so sentimental?

That thought was banished when Thor suddenly began eating alot slower. His eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating something and this time Loki held his gaze on his brother. Thor ate another fork full, he almost looked cautious. Thor then stopped eating all together and leaned backwards from his plate. There was an uneasy feeling rising up inside him. When he noticed that Loki was staring at him, head tilted slightly to the side in a silent question, Thor asked,  
"Do they taste funny to you?"  
Loki's eyebrows rose at Thor's question. Before he slowly shook his head. Unlike his brother, he'd waited for the food to cool down before eating it so he could tell that the eggs were fine, which only made Loki more confused at Thor's reaction to it.

Thor looked at Loki, then back at his food, before shaking his head,  
"Nevermind." And he resumed eating. But after another two fork fulls, Thor stopped again, placing his fork onto the plate and leaning back again. Loki stopped as well then,  
"Are you alright? There's nothing wrong with them Thor, I promise, Brunhilde only bought them the other day."  
Thor shook his head and waved him off,  
"I know..it's just..I'm. I'm just.."  
The uneasy feeling then began to become stronger and Thor could feel bile in the back of his throat. The smell of the eggs wafted past his nose and that was it,  
"Excuse me."  
Thor sprinted from the table and from the kitchen, after a moment, Loki darted after him.

Thor raced into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him. Loki was hot on his heels, the door might've been blocking his view but he could hear the retching and gagging well enough to know what was going on. When the sounds ceased and he heard the toilet flush, Loki pounded on the door,  
"Thor?"  
He could hear Thor groan before responding,  
"Loki do not come in here!" 

Too late, Loki entered the room as Thor was curled up on the floor beside the toilet. Loki was very taken aback by the sight of his brother. His skin was slightly grey, his eyes screwed shut and he he had an arm wrapped tightly around his middle. He looked in pain. Loki ran to the sink and filled a cup with cold water from the tap, he soaked a flannel in the same water and knelt down in front of Thor. Loki held the cup to Thor and with shaking hands, Thor took it from him, Loki kept one hand on the cup to help him drink.  
"Go slow, if you gulp it all down you could throw up again."  
Thor nodded once and slowly sipped the water. He leaned back to signal to Loki that he was done and Loki placed the cup on its side into the sink. He decided it was best not to move Thor for now and helped him onto his back so he was comfortable. As he held Thor's arms however he was instantly alarmed with how cold Thor's skin was. Loki threw the cold flannel into the sink with the cup then as they'd definatly have no need for it with the temperature of Thor's skin. He needed warmth. 

What a convenient time to be in a bathroom, Loki thought as he stood and went to the other side of the room to where the bathtub was. Thor continued to curl up tighter, not paying attention to what his brother was doing. Loki twisted the taps and held a hand underneath the fosset for a few seconds before deciding that the water was warm enough.  
"Thor, come here."  
Thor obeyed, slowly as he tried to regain his balance. But when he did he took a few steps towards Loki, coming to a stop just behind him. Loki to that as a signal to leave and he walked back downstairs. He reentered the kitchen and gathered up the leftovers from their breakfast, descarding them into the bin. 

Suddenly there was a loud scream from upstairs. Thor. Loki abandoned the dishes into the sink and fled upstairs and down the halls with a speed he didn't know he possessed. Running back into the bathroom, he instantly saw Thor back on the floor clutching his arm, his knees curled up to his stomach. Loki knelt down and shook him,  
"Thor! Brother what's wrong?!"  
Thor just continued to breathe in deeply, he looked as if he was in alot of pain. Eventually he turned his head to Loki, gritting out through his teeth,  
"It..it hurts!!.."  
Loki tried his best to soothe his brother but he wasn't sure what to do. He knew someone who could try though,  
"Thor just hold on alright I'm going to get Bruce, just breathe for me brother okay!"  
Loki didn't wait for a reply before dashing off back down the halls,  
"Banner!! Banner come quickly!!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Cliffhanger! Im so sorry!! Stay tuned to find out more :) Bye!!!!


	4. Chapter 4: Everytime I close my eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Thor's condition appears to be getting worse, no one knows how to help him and Loki becomes desperate for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya!!! Thank you all so much for your comments they really encourage me to write more frequently. I'm actually writing this in the middle of school!! Here's another chapter for you all!!

After practically dragging Banner inside and up to the bathroom where Thor had now passed out again, Loki began to panic, Thor had passed out again, it looked like this time it was from the pain and that just made Loki all the more nervous. Thor couldnt stay here on the bathroom floor, he needed his bed. Loki managed to grip Thor under his arms and drag him across the hall to their bedroom. Rocket had followed just behind Banner. Loki had asked for help getting Thor onto the bed but everyone seemed on edge after Brunhilde got burned touching Thor and took a step back. Loki growled in deep frustration at having to do it himself. He did it step by step until Thor was laying the bed comfortably. 

When Banner left to get his equipment, Rocket sat on the pillow that Thor's head wasn't resting on and looked to Loki,  
"What's happened now?"  
Loki sighed and rubbed a hand over his temple, he really didn't know. He'd started a warm bath for his brother then left him to it. What could've caused Thor to scream in pain like that? He hadn't heard him scream like that since.....  
"Your guess is as good as mine." Loki muttered in reply.

Banner returned with the equipment, though there wasn't much and pulled up a chair to sit beside the two gods.  
"Right Loki, I need you to tell me exactly what happened after he woke up. Honestly you should've come to me first. Anyways go ahead."  
Loki held Thor's hand tightly. He didn't look at anything else but Thor.  
"There's not much to tell Bruce. He was only awake for a few minutes before this happened. He woke up hungry, I told him to rest but he was always the stubborn one. He made us both breakfast but then he said that it tasted funny. Then he ran to the bathroom and threw up. I gave him some water to calm his stomach and soaked a flannel to place on his head but after I felt how cold his skin was I decided he needed to get warm. So I ran him a bath and left him to it. I was gone for a second. Just a second. Then I heard him scream. When I found him, he was obviously in pain and when I asked him what was wrong he told me that he felt like he was burning. That's when I came to you when you came up he'd already passed out."

Bruce was making notes in his notebook as Loki told him. When he was done, Bruce seemed to be deep in thought for a while. Eventually he sighed and removed the glasses from his head, placing them on the bedside table. He leaned closer to the two Asgardians,  
"Well you told me that his skin was cold. Do you think that maybe the hot water against the cold skin might've been the cause for the burning?"  
Loki seemed to think it over for a second before shaking his head,  
"No. You don't understand Bruce, he screamed. I'm not talking about a small shriek when the water's too hot. I haven't heard him scream like that since...since Thanos' attack on our ship. When he placed the power stone against Thor's head, slowly killing him..."  
Loki trailed off, memories of that night on the ship flooding his brain. Hundreds of Asgardians laying slaughtered, his brother laying defeated and barely conscious. Loki being forced to watch as Thanos pressed the power stone against Thor's head, blood pouring from his mouth, the screams, the screams.

"Loki? You okay?" Bruce placed a hand on Loki's shoulder, eyes narrowed with deep concern. Loki appeared to be reliving a memory, a bad memory. Of course Bruce was technically there that night but as the other guy, therefore he couldn't remember anything. He isn't surprised at all to see that memories of Thanos still haunted them, they haunted him too.  
"Come on, just try to breathe, you're safe now, you both are."  
Loki's eyes snapped up to meet Bruce's and he quickly tried to get his breathing under control. He couldn't be seen like this. Not in front of Banner of all people. Loki just squeezed Thor's hand tighter and looked back down to his brother, taking deep breaths in and out. He refused to look Bruce in the eye. Suddenly Bruce's phone buzzed in his back pocket  
"Sorry, i really should answer that."  
and he left the room.

Rocket eyed Loki with a brow raised. He didn't know Loki as well as he knew Thor but he could definitely empathise with the guy more than Thor. He knew what it was like to feel like you were alone, to feel like you didn't have the right to be scared just because your pride was too strong. He knew that Loki was terrified about what could possibly be wrong with Thor and the fear was swallowing him whole. Rocket crawled from the pillow he was sitting on and sat on the edge of the bed beside Loki.  
"I know how you feel."  
Loki startled at the voice on his right. He'd honestly forgot that Rocket was here. Playing innocent he replied,  
"what do you mean."  
He heard Rocket scoff before looking Loki in the eye,  
"You feel scared." He stated. This time Loki scoffed,  
"Everyone knows what it's like to feel scared."  
Rocket twisted his body so he was now fully facing Loki,  
"Scared of something yes, but not scared for something."  
Loki's eyebrows rose up at the racoon's words, but Rocket wasn't done yet,  
"I know how it feels. To have the one thing you love more than anything else in the whole universe taken so unfairly from you. No doubt Thor knows it too as it's happened to him with you time and time again. You're scared for him and I know that because I feel the same about Groot. I'm scared to close my eyes, I'm scared to be away from him because I've already lost him twice. I've grieved and cried for him over and over again. Just like Thor has with you. You're scared that he's gonna make you feel the same thing now. And I know how you feel because everytime I look at Groot, I'm scared that if I look away just for a second, he'll be gone all over again."

Loki just stared at Rocket as he spoke purely from his heart. This was something that the racoon had never done in the short time they'd known eachother. But with every word that Rocket spoke he felt the cracks in his heart split just a little more. Not just for Rocket but for Thor as well. He knew that he'd put Thor through so much pain over the years. Sometimes not intentional granted but it didn't make Loki feel any less guilty. Thor had done the same things that Rocket had just told him. Thor was trying to be subtle but Loki always noticed when Thor constantly glanced in his direction, pulled him closer as they slept, stayed in the same room as him nearly all the time. Loki pretended not to notice, through all the nightmares that Thor had, all the tears that Thor secretly shed when he thought he was alone. Loki had just noticed and not done anything about it, and that was the worst part if it all. He'd left Thor alone in all this. When he'd gotten strangled by Thanos and left Thor to mourn him for the third time. He really was the worst brother.

Loki's guilt was overpowering and he felt like he couldn't breathe. When he felt something wet drip onto his hand and he ran his fingers over his cheek only for them to come away wet as well. When did he start crying? As he looked back to where Rocket was sitting before, he saw that the space was empty. Loki was secretly grateful that Rocket had left. The only people in the room now were him and Thor. Loki looked up to the ceiling trying to stop the deep shuddering breaths that came with the overwhelming urge to cry. But all he could think about was Thor. His blue eyed, foolish, golden, strong Thor, who was now still strong physically but mentally, he would always be scarred there and that was all down to him. What had he done to him?  
"What have I done?"

Loki could now feel the pressure of the tears in his eyes burning, Loki held back but he knew he probably couldn't for much longer.. His eyes moved from the ceiling down to his brother's sleeping form. He looked so peaceful, so perfect. Whatever was wrong with Thor, whatever happened to him on Vanaheim, Loki would fight by Thor's side all the way. Until the end, maybe even after that. He gripped Thor's hand tighter, knuckles turning white from the force of the grip, it was a silent promise. He would be there for Thor this time. Loki let go of Thor's hand and lay down beside him, wrapping his arms tightly around Thor's frame, he stopped for a second, just staring at Thor's face, he could feel the lump in his throat, the ache in his chest, the burn in his eyes and after another second of holding back, Loki let go. Tears spilled heavily down his cheeks as Loki silently wept, the only sounds that could be heard were his ragged breaths. He stroked the side of Thor's face, holding his jaw in his palm whilst running his thumb over Thor's cheek. When Loki's voice became unstuck after letting the sobs out he whispered to Thor in the most sincere and gentle tone he'd ever spoken,  
"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry Thor."  
Loki wiped his eyes and leaned down, he pressed his lips to Thor's forehead and stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling back, Loki then moved to Thor's cheek and he pressed a kiss there as well. When he pulled back again, Loki buried his face into the side of Thor's neck and held him tightly in his arms. The tears continued to fall but they had calmed a little now. When they completley stopped , Loki's head ached and he felt exhausted remembering that he hadn't slept at all last night. With a flick of his wrist, their bedroom door slammed shut and locked. Loki stayed right where he was, the need to sleep very quickly got to Loki and his eyes fluttered closed, just before he succumbed to it he felt the strong arms of his brother wrap around his middle, holding him just as tightly. Thor was awake. Loki was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go!! This is a slightly shorter chapter compared to the other ones and don't worry this isn't the last chapter. Loads more to come yet. Stay tuned for more <3


	5. Chapter 5: Comfort in the cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Days are passing and the changes in Thor's body are becoming obvious. When Loki comes up with a theory about what's going on with Thor he goes to Banner for a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! So I'm back with another chapter for this fic. I know it's been a while since I posted for this story but I desperately needed to finish "I'll always be here." So now that's done my focus will be on this story!

It had been five days. Loki walked upstairs with a glass of water. It was the only thing that Thor could manage to keep down. Food didn't seem like an option. However small or simple the food was, it just didn't stay down long. Loki was somewhat grateful that even though he couldn't eat, Thor could still drink water. He entered their room, where Thor had been ever since they found him passed out in the bathroom, he was awake and he smiled when Loki walked in. Loki handed him the glass and Thor drunk it quickly. Loki did find this strange but if it kept him somewhat healthy then Loki was satisfied.

"Thank you brother." Thor said as he placed the empty glass down on the table beside him.  
"How do you feel?" Loki asked, he placed his palm onto Thor's forehead to check his temperature. His skin was still cold. That was something else, no matter what method they tried to get Thor's temperature back up, warm baths, hot food, blankets, his body seemed to reject it. It was like when Valkyrie tried to touch him, his body just wouldn't let her or anyone else, well exept Loki. That confused Loki even more. He'd told Banner all of this information and Banner had also taken notes everytime they tried anything. But for the past five days, they had come no closer to figuring out the problem. He was pulled from his thoughts when Thor leaned into Loki's touch,  
"..I'm okay." It came out like a question. 

He wasn't okay. It was very obvious that Thor wasn't okay. His skin was grey and ice cold, he couldn't keep down any food and he could bearly move without getting tired. Thor had slept through most of the last five days, it was honestly a surprise that he was awake right now. Loki's brow furrowed when Thor made a face and shifted around a little bit as if he was uncomfortable, he looked around the room until he set his eyes on the window,  
"Brother, could you open the window?" His voice was strained, like he was in pain. Loki stared at him incredulously,  
"Thor, we're trying to get your temperature back up not bring it down even more, it's freezing outside."  
Thor put a hand on Loki's arm, it was the first time he'd touched anybody in days. He didn't even hesitate, how come Thor was so confident to touch Loki but not anyone else?  
"Please." He said. Loki sighed and gave in, he walked over to the window and opened it. Instantly the cold winter air filtered through and filled the room. After a few seconds the look of discomfort on his brother's face vanished and he relaxed,  
"Thank you Loki."  
Okay, Loki needed to see Banner, now.

Banner was downstairs, hunched over his desk, reading over the notes he'd made on Thor's behaviour over the last few days. It had to have been the hundredth time he'd read them over, trying to get something from them. Nothing. Bruce bit his lip hard and tried not to lose it. Letting the other guy take control was the last thing anybody needed right now. He just didn't understand, how can a guy with seven PhD's not be able to diagnose one little virus. If that's even what it was. He almost jumped out of his chair when Loki burst through the door.  
"Shit! God Loki I really didn't need a heart attack this morning!" Bruce breathed in and out deeply, trying to control the stress building up,  
"Apologies Bruce but you'll want to hear this. I've noticed something about Thor that we might finally be able to work from."  
If Bruce was angry, he definatly wasn't anymore. Inwardly he let out a sigh of relief. He turned in his chair to face Loki and motioned for him to sit down. Loki did and instantly spoke,  
"I've just been to see him and he was awake. I gave him some water and then he seemed...I can't tell if he was in pain or just uncomfortable, but asked me to open the window. I thought it was a ridiculous request considering his current temperature but he only relaxed when I did what he asked. The cold air is what calmed him. I then remembered five days ago when he passed out in the bathroom, it was only after he touched the hot water in the bath that he passed out again. It would explain so many other things Bruce."  
Banner scribbled down on his notes as Loki spoke but he stopped and stared in confusion when Loki stopped talking.  
"What would explain those other things Loki?"  
Loki didn't speak for a moment, he was trying to put it into words what his theory was, until,  
"I think the cold is what keeps him from passing out."

Bruce just stared at Loki. So many things were going through his mind at what he'd just heard. Of course Loki's theory made sense based on what he'd told him but it left other things unexplained. He'd never seen or heard of anything like what Thor was going through. But he wasn't about to question Loki's theory, Bruce had seen alot of things he didn't think possible over the last few years so he couldn't outright dismiss the possibility that what Loki was saying was true. Banner removed his glasses and dropped them on the desk he placed his notes down as well,  
"Okay. Whilst that theory does explain some things Loki, it leaves alot of other questions unanswered. Even if you're correct it still doesn't explain why we can't get him to eat or why no one else can freaking touch him without getting shocked. Or rather no one can touch him exept for you. That's one of the main things I've been going over in my head, Rocket touches him, he gets burned, but he's mortal. Val touches him and she gets burned as well, but she's Asgardian like you and more powerful than mortals, so how come you can touch him but she can't?" 

LokI leaned back in his chair deep in thought for a minute. Until his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, he spoke,  
"I'm not Asgardian."  
Bruce looked up,  
"What?"  
Loki locked eyes with the scientist,  
"I'm not Asgardian, I'm Jotun."  
Banner just continued to boggle at him. Loki sighed before explaining,  
"I wasn't born on Asgard, as Thor has probably told you many times, I was adopted. I was born on Jotunheim as the son of Laufey, king of the frost giants. It wasn't until Odin took me in as an infant that I became the way I am now. But it isn't my true form, I'm a Jotun, a frost giant."  
Banner would be lying if he said he wasn't genuinely interested in learning more about the God of Mischief but he didn't understand,  
"Okay, so what does that have to do with anything?"  
Loki leaned closer,  
"The warmth of physical contact is what makes Thor react the way he does. It's why Valkyrie got burned even though she's Asgardian, she still has warm blood in her veins. With me that's not an issue. If Thor being cold is what keeps him comfortable, my true form as a first giant can only add onto that and that is why I can touch him without getting burned."

Banner was truly stunned. He wasn't even looking at Loki anymore, just the floor with a bewildered look on his face. He soon found his voice again,  
"That...actually makes sense. Look I don't know much about frost giants but you may be onto something with what you're saying here. There is only one problem, we still don't know what happened on Vanaheim so we don't even know if this is a virus or something stronger. The only way we can prove your hypothesis is by testing it."  
Loki stood up from his chair,  
"So let's test it then!" Banner didn't move from his chair. He looked down avoiding Loki's gaze,  
"What?" Loki asked. Bruce rubbed a hand over his face and looked up but still avoided Loki's gaze,  
"You're saying that he likes it cold so by testing that, we'd have to get him warm. None of us can touch him so you'd have to restrain him whilst I test it, I shouldn't have to tell you how this could end for any of us."  
Loki looked down at the floor in understanding. Ah, yes that could be a problem. But they were finally getting somewhere, Thor hadn't been willing to spill what had happened on Vanaheim so if this was the closest they could get to figuring out what was wrong with his brother, he had to try.  
"Please Bruce. This could be the closest we get to helping Thor. I can tell just by looking at him, he's not getting any better. I have to try."  
Banner put his head in his hands and sighed deeply. He really hated it when Loki of all people proved him wrong. He locked eyes with the trickster again,  
"Alright."

Within half an hour Loki, Rocket, Gamora, Valkyrie and Banner were in Thor's and Loki's bedroom. Loki had filled them in on his and Banner's conversation before they entered the room. Loki really didn't want to do this, if there was a better alternative Loki would do it in a heartbeat, he'd already caused Thor enough pain. Thor was still awake, barely, and his brow furrowed at all of the people who walked in. He was even more suspicious at the look of shame on Loki's face.  
"What's going on? Loki?"  
Loki just looked more and more suspicious as he made his way over to his brother. He looked like he'd done something wrong. Little did he know that he hadn't, but he was about to. Loki smiled sadly at Thor when he reached the bed, his hand sliding across the matress heading for Thor's that was splayed out to the side,  
"Forgive me for this brother." Thor tilted his head in confusion,  
"What? Loki what have you done? What ever is the matter?" Thor wanted nothing more than to comfort  
Loki, he looked upset. Those feelings went away into confusion and mild outrage when Loki took his hand and in one swift movement, he cuffed Thor to the bed. Thor shook his arm that was cuffed down and once it clicked in his head what had happened Thor thrashed violently, trying to break free. He tried to use his other arm to break the cuffs but on his other side Valkyrie had cuffed the other hand. 

Thor thrashed and yelled as he was restrained by something as weak as handcuffs, they were thin but Thor just couldn't brake them, he came to the conclusion that they were probably made from Loki's magic. Loki tried desperately to calm him down as Thor continued to helplessly try and escape. No matter what he did, Thor didn't stop,  
"Loki! What the hell is this? Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!!"  
Thor was becoming hysterical, he kept repeating the same words over and over and continuing to writhe around, getting louder and louder every time he said it. He did stop however when Loki threw his arms around Thor and hugged him tightly. He didn't have to look at Loki's face, he could tell by the slight shake of his shoulders that his brother was crying. Thor was instantly calm and he wanted to hug him back, desperately, but his arms were tied down, this sparked a flare of anger and his chest. But he settled for leaning in closer and hiding his face in Loki's neck. When Loki was sure that Thor was calm he pulled back and wiped his eyes,  
"Please be calm brother. We're not here to harm you, I swear that's the last thing on my mind. I've had a theory about what's wrong with you and it needs to be tested to give us an answer. The cuffs on your wrists, I've put a spell on them that will restrain your lightning. The only way we can do that without anyone getting hurt is by binding your powers. Please, it'll just be for a second okay?"  
Thor looked deep into Loki's eyes, searching for any sign of a lie. There was none. Thor knew his brother. He trusted Loki. 

Thor just nodded. Loki was honestly relieved and happy that Thor trusted him. But that made what he was about to do that much harder. He nodded to Gamora and she closed the window. Thor watched their every movement, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Banner came and stood next to Thor he also had a sad smile on his face. What we're they going to do to him? Banner raised a hand over his chest but stopped just before it made contact. Thor's breath caught in his throat and he tried to hide his instant fear from them. He failed.  
"Okay buddy this will just be for a few seconds. If what we think is correct then we're one step closer to figuring out what's wrong. All I want you to do is tell me what you feel, can you do that?"  
Thor remembered that these were his friends that he was talking to. He trusted them. Whatever they were doing, Thor knew that it would be the right thing to do. Without his lightning, Banner wouldn't get burned. He nodded again. 

The burning pain that Thor felt when Banner's hand pressed lightly against his chest was something that Thor was definitely not prepared for. He hissed through his teeth and threw his head back. This wasn't good. This wasn't good. Banner pressed down a little harder and Thor gasped and began to struggle in the cuffs binding his wrists.  
"It..it hurts!"  
Banner didn't let up on the pressure,  
"Where? Where does it hurt Thor?"  
The pain flooded throughout his body, it felt like his insides were on fire,  
"EVERYWHERE!" He screamed at the top of his voice. Banner still didn't let up and Thor continued to scream,  
"Stop!..please!..stop!"  
Loki had seen enough now, he couldn't watch anymore, this reminded him far too much of what happened on the Statesman,  
"Alright that's enough! ENOUGH BANNER STOP!"  
Banner stopped, yanking his hand away as if it were on fire. Thor still wouldn't stop screaming. Loki lifted his magic and the cuffs broke instantly, Thor curled up in a ball on the bed, still crying out in sheer agony. Loki was at Thor's side, he grabbed Thor's arms and placed them around Loki and he put his own arms around Thor. Loki muttered spell after spell into Thor's ear, trying whatever he could to relieve the pain. His brother's screams quietened and he felt Thor embrace him back tightly. When Loki pulled back, Thor looked exhausted. He was barely keeping his eyes open. Loki helped him onto his back. 

When everyone left the room after Loki yelled at them to leave them alone, Loki reopened the window and came and sat next to Thor, he took his hand and squeezed knowing that Thor would probably fall asleep again soon. He smiled when Thor squeezed back. Thor's eyes began to flutter closed when suddenly he gasped and cringed and his hands went flying to his middle.  
"Are you alright?" Loki asked still panicked from what had just happened minutes ago. Thor rubbed his stomach as if he was trying to soothe the slight pain,  
"Something just moved." Thor said suddenly wide awake again. Loki's eyes narrowed and he pulled back slightly,  
"What?"  
Thor's eyes darted around and he began breathing quicker, he locked eyes with Loki,  
"Brother I swear something just moved inside me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you have it! Next chapter will be up soon. Until next time:)


	6. Chapter 6: Vanaheim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Thor continues to get worse with every passing day, Loki decides that enough is enough. He needs to know what happened on Vanaheim and calls a friend in to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know that the previous chapter was a little inconclusive so hopefully this chapter will clear some of that up :)

"I can't see anything." Banner said looking back at Thor and Loki who were staring at him expectedly. Thor had moved to the lounge and was lying on the couch, there was a fan in the room keeping Thor cool and every window in the room was open. Loki accompanying him in a chair by his side. Thor's shirt was lifted and Bruce was taking an x-ray of his stomach. Loki deflated like a balloon,  
"There has to be something there Bruce, he told me he felt something move."  
Bruce turned his computer around to show them both the results. He shook his head,  
"This is the second time that we've done this, there's nothing there Loki."  
Loki sighed and leaned back in his chair, this was just getting more and more complicated.  
"So what then? What does this mean? What do we do now?"  
Bruce turned off his computer and looked to them both. It was unnerving to see the scientist so stumped. Bruce didn't say anything and after a moment if silence, he stood up and left the room. Loki was about to go after him but Thor caught him before he could. Loki sat down again and place his palm on Thor's head,  
"Have you felt any more movement since yesterday?"  
Thor shook his head and pulled his shirt back down.

That was it. Enough. Thor was getting worse. He still couldn't eat anything and his skin was going even grayer if that was even possible. He was starting to get thinner. It was only slight, but Loki could see that he'd lost some weight. Any thoughts on what was wrong with Thor went out the window last night when Thor said he felt something move inside of him. This had just complicated things even more. No that was enough, he didn't care how reluctant Thor was about speaking of it, he needed to know what happened on Vanaheim. When he looked back to Thor he noticed that his brother had been staring at him,  
"What are you thinking brother?" Thor asked. Loki looked away from him, he was reluctant to ask his question, he didn't meet his eye when he asked,  
"What happened on Vanaheim Thor?"

Thor looked surprised for a second before he frowned and looked away from Loki. That wasn't going to cut it this time, Loki needed to know,  
"Please brother, we've tried everything we can to get to the bottom of this but nothing's working. We're at a dead end and it will stay like that until we know what happened. All I want to do is help you like you've helped me many times. So please Thor, tell me."  
Thor didn't turn his head, but he looked deep in thought, like he was considering it. Loki was more than willing to wait for a response. Finally Thor met Loki's eyes again,  
"I can't tell you."  
Loki just stared at him. He was completley still, Thor knew that was never a good sign when it came to Loki, just as he predicted, Loki snapped,  
"Why?! Why can't you tell me Thor?! This may be the only chance we have at saving you, do you understand that?! You're getting even sicker with each passing day and we have no idea how to help you, this is the only option we have left. Now why won't you talk to me!!"

"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW!!"

Loki froze in his outburst from his brother's thunderous response. Thor looked as though he should be angry but with the dark circles around his eyes and the paleness of his usually tanned skin, he just looked tired. Loki took a deep breath and asked,  
"What do you mean you don't know Thor?"  
Thor responded immediately,  
"I mean exactly that Loki. The last thing I remember was walking towards a cave, I don't remember the reason why and I don't remember what happened. All I remember is entering the cave and then I must've passed out because the next thing I knew, I was back on the ship. I don't remember anything Loki."

Loki tore his gaze from Thor he stood from his chair and fought the urge to kick it across the room. Perfect, absolutely fucking perfect. The only person who knew what had happened, didn't actually know anything at all. He was just as oblivious as everyone else. He startled when Thor spoke again,  
"I've tried. I've tried so hard to remember ever since I came home. But it seems like whenever I get close to rediscovering a memory, it's pulled away again and my body punishes me for it. If I did remember, then I'd tell you in a heartbeat. I don't like feeling this way brother."  
Loki calmed a little at Thor's words. He was back at Thor's side and placed a hand on his shoulder,  
"I know you don't. I'm just so aggravated, that was all we had left." Thor smiled at Loki in an attempt to assure him. He didn't know what he was assuring him off, but Thor had to try something.  
"This doesn't mean we give up Loki. This house is full of some of the most intelligent people I've ever met and that includes you above all. We'll find a way."  
Loki stared at Thor, damn his optimism, but it did make Loki smile back and he squeezed his brother's shoulder affectionately.

Suddenly Loki had a thought,  
"Wait, you said that whenever you came close to remembering something that it was taken away again. Like your body wasn't allowing you to remember?"  
Thor thought for a second before nodding. Loki suddenly smiled. Thor knew that look. It was one that he didn't always trust depending on the situation, right now he wasn't sure if he did. His eyes were lit up and he was grinning like a shark,  
"Well, what if you didn't have to?"  
Thor tilted his head to the side and his brows furrowed,  
"What do you mean?"  
The smile never left Loki's face,  
"What if someone could remember for you?"  
Thor's eyebrows rose up in surprise but then they furrowed again when he asked,  
"So someone else would enter my mind and find my memories and then they could tell you what happened?"  
Loki's grin was almost meeting his ears,  
"Exactly."  
Thor shook his head,  
"But there's no one here who can do that. Only telepaths can hear thoughts and enter someone's mind."  
That didn't get Loki down, the grin still on his face,  
"True we don't know anyone here in Asgardia that can do that, but.."  
Thor had had enough guessing by this point,  
"Get to the point Loki, where are you going with this?"  
Loki leaned closer,  
"Brother, do you remember our dear friend Wanda Maximoff?"  
Thor balked but a second later his grin was as big as Loki's,  
"Brother you are truly brilliant!!" 

Loki had told Bruce what the plan was and Banner was instantly calling Wanda. It took a couple of tries but she did pick up. As soon as she answered Banner passed the phone to Loki. He told her everything that had happened and what they needed to do and what he needed her to do. Wanda agreed very quickly and said that she would be there as soon as she could be, most likely tomorrow, Loki accepted graciously and passed the phone back to Bruce. Loki didn't stop smiling all evening, finally, they might be able to figure out what was wrong with Thor. 

Wanda arrived at noon the next day and Brunhilde drove her up to their house. When she came I she accepted the embraces that Bruce and the Guardians gave her, she was honestly happy to see them. Vision had stayed back at home after Wanda practically forced him to, saying that there was no need for him to come and she would be home by tomorrow. When Loki called her for help as there was something wrong with Thor, she was happy to help. Thor was one of her dearest friends and it was mostly down to him that Vision was alive again. She was more than happy to help him in his time of need. She was led into the lounge where Thor was on the couch and Loki was standing at the foot of the sofa. When she entered, Loki's eyes widened when he saw her. He walked over to her,  
"Thank you for coming here. I honestly cannot tell you how grateful we are for your help."  
She smiled and shook her head,  
"Don't worry about it, I'm always here to help a friend in need. I owe your brother a great debt for bringing my Vis back to life."  
Thor spoke up from his place on the couch making them both turn around,  
"You owe me nothing Wanda. I wanted to bring vision back as much as everyone else, but I'm glad you're here all the same." He said it with a smile and Wanda smiled back.  
"Alright so what do you want me to do?"

Loki led Wanda to Thor, Banner and Valkyrie came into the room as well, Loki explained,  
"Thor is unwell, from what we do not know, he can't remember anything about what happened on Vanaheim that led him to be so ill, and that's where you come in. We need you to enter his mind. Find the memories that his body doesn't want him to find. Only then can we determine what's wrong. Can you do that?"  
Wanda looked to Thor, to Loki, to the floor and then back to Loki. She nodded.  
"Can you do it without touching him?" That came from Valkyrie, she rubbed her arm as she said that. Wanda looked confused for a second before saying,  
"I..I could try."  
That was good enough for Loki. 

Wanda knelt down beside Thor and held her hand above his head,  
"I need you to stay still." She said and Thor nodded in understanding. Everyone stood back as they had no idea what was about to happen. Wanda stared hard and concentrated. Her hand began to glow red and she controlled it, the red aura seeping into Thor's head. They both closed their eyes. For a moment all Wanda saw was black, nothing else, until a figure appeared in front of her facing the other way, it was Thor.  
Loki looked to Banner,  
"She's in."

_It was no longer black around them, stone walls built up in an image surrounding them both, the walls began dripping and it was still rather dark. It clicked in Wanda's head, they were in the cave. Thor didn't turn around to face her, he wouldn't have seen her anyway, this was only a memory. Thor seemed to be talking to someone, but Wanda couldn't see anyone around apart from the two of them. She moved closer and was taken aback when she saw someone standing in front of him. It looked like...Loki. She was startled when the peeson who appeared to be Thor's brother suddenly faded into black and Thor began to frantically look around, he was like a frightened deer, he didn't look behind him, his back was facing Wanda the whole time. He looked scared, nervous. The way his head was moving, it was like he was looking for something, but Wanda couldn't see anything in front of them, nothing was moving around. She jumped when Thor shouted,  
"COME ON OUT AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!!"_

The real Thor was starting to squirm around on the couch. His eyes didnt open. As much as Loki wanted to he knew he couldn't intervene. 

_Back in his head, Thor did spin around, as if his eyes were chasing something, just like Wanda expected, Thor didn't see her. He kept turning around facing her then back around again. His expression was one of fear, something she rarely saw in the God of Thunder. Thor screamed again,_  
_"WHAT DO YOU..."  
His sentence was cut off by something slamming into his body, Thor fell on his back with a yell._

Thor was now thrashing on the couch but Wanda's magic prevented him from getting away, she was in too deep now, Thor started breathing hard and he let out a yell,  
"Stop!!" 

_Wanda didn't hear him from the outside, she came closer to where Thor was now laying on the stony floor. She stood over him, his body was shaking, the fear evident in his eyes. He screamed again,_  
_"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!!"  
When Wanda heard a howl, she looked to see a black mist surrounding them, like a tornado. It was like Thor was stuck to the floor, no matter how much he moved, he couldn't get up. Thor gasped at the sight of the mist-like creature as it began to close in on them. Thor cried out in panic at not being able to get away._

Loki darted to Thor and Wanda and knelt down beside them, Thor continued to thrash and tell her to stop over and over again. Wanda's eyes were screwed shut and she kept flinching, he didn't touch either of them as he knew that he could break her concentration,  
"What is it Wanda, what do you see?!

_The mist closed in more._

"Black." She answered.

_The creature was whirling rapidly around them, it began to envelop Thor._

"Everywhere." She said.

_Thor screamed. The blackness attacked with another deafening howl, it flooded through him. His open mouth, his eyes, his ears, anywhere it could get._

"It's attacking him, it's covering him! I can't see him anymore!!" She said, her voice wavering with every word.

_The blackness continued to flood Thor's body. The screams continued but Thor couldn't stop it. Wanda tried as hard as she could not to look away, it was horrifying to look at. The blackness was roaring as it entered Thor's body, like a Lion that caught it's prey, and Thor couldnt do anything but let it continue. The black suddenly stopped and there was light again coming from the mouth of the cave. Thor's screams ceased and he lay there, shaking, trembling, barely conscious. Wanda took a step forward and the first thing she noticed was a large, angry, red bite mark just over his collarbone. When Wanda heard voices coming from outside the cave she looked to see a very familiar racoon and tree running towards the cave where Thor now lay shaking._

"I SAID STOP!!"  
A deep voice bellowed out and Wanda finally opened her eyes. When she came back down to earth she looked to see Thor, his eyes were open now as well but they weren't their usual stunning blue, they were a deep black. Wanda almost screamed at it. Lightning emerged and danced up Thor's body from the tip of his toes up to his neck and the same lightning caught Wanda's arm and travelled all the way up to her elbow, she did scream then at the burning sensation from the lightning and then there was a flash of blue, the force of it blew her backwards and she hit the floor hard. The lightning then ceased as the threat had moved away and Thor went slack before passing out.

Wanda hissed through the burning pain and held her arm to her chest, Loki held out a hand and she took it gratefully as he helped he to her feet. He yelled,  
"BANNER WE NEED WATER, NOW!!" Bruce was on his feet in an instant and dashed into the kitchen to get what he needed. Loki looked over Thor's unconscious form, surely he hadn't been the only one who saw that. Thor's eyes were completely black and he didn't know what that was but the voice that screamed through Thor's body definitely wasn't Thor's voice. It sounded monstrous. Ominous. Possessive. 

Banner returned with the water and poured it onto Wanda's arm, he began to properly treat the burn after he could actually think straight about what had just happened. Loki approached Wanda,  
"I'm so sorry, I really didn't think that would happen, that has only happened when someone touches him. It's how Brunhilde and Rocket got burned. I'm so sorry Wanda."  
Wanda just shook her head but didn't say anything, she seemed out of breath. Valkyrie spoke up from behind them,  
"Um, I'm not the only one who saw his eyes right?"  
They all looked to eachother, everyone had seen Thor's eyes.  
"His chest." Wanda breathed out between pants. Loki's brow furrowed and he turned to her, "What?" He asked but Wanda couldn't speak anymore, she needed to sit down. Loki knelt down by Thor's side and tore his shirt open. His breath stopped. Though it was faded and only slightly bruised, Loki recognised a bite mark when he saw one. "We angered it." Wanda said. Everyone's eyes went to her. Loki came and sat beside her,  
"What do you mean? Angered what exactly?"  
Wanda looked to the floor,  
"I found out something that it didn't want Thor to remember. It is angry. That was what caused the reaction."  
Banner finished bandaging her arm before asking,  
"Did you figure out what the virus was?" 

"It's not a virus." She said. She shut her eyes as the haunting images returned to her head,  
"It was like..the stuff of nightmares. Darkness entering his body, from anywhere it could. It's not a virus, I honestly don't know what it is but it's now inside his body."  
Loki looked at his brother. He honestly felt sick, Thor was possessed by this thing that they don't even know what it is. He felt sick just imagining what had happened in that cave, to his brother. Loki turned back to Thor, taking his hand even though Thor wouldnt feel it.  
He asked to Wanda,  
"What does it want?"  
No one said a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, now we know what happened, now there's just the matter of what to do next. See you soon :)


	7. Chapter 7: Faltering hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Thor continues to grow weaker, the virus only grows stronger and because no one knows what the virus is, they dont know how to remove it and Loki is starting to lose hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it's pretty obvious by this point, I'm crap at summaries. But I'm back anyway!! With another chapter!! Though apologies because it's slightly shorter. Enjoy! :)

A week had passed,  
"Another rib cracked." Banner said as he stared at the x-rays on his computer screen, then back to Thor. They were in Banner's office and Thor was laying on a hospital bed. Banner's office was actually just a spare room in Thor and Loki's house but he had set it up to look like a doctor's office.  
"But there are no other fractures, you haven't punctured anything."  
Thor nodded somewhat relieved but honestly it was hard to tell anymore, he truly looked like death, he was remarkably thin now to the point where you could see the outline of any bone in his body. His skin was now a pale white and there were even darker circles around his eyes. Loki was lurking in the corner of the room, he was looking between Thor and Banner the entire time they'd been here. When he heard Banner, he looked down to the floor and whispered,  
"Yet."  
He hadn't meant for anyone to hear that but unfortunately Banner did,  
" _Loki._ " He said as if to chastise him. Loki went quiet at that. Banner looked back to Thor,  
"I can give you something to relieve the pain but apart from that there's nothing else I can really do. We don't know what this is or what it wants so..."

"What it wants?" Loki said, interrupting Banner. He laughed bitterly. When he was done he stared them both down making Banner flinch. It was Thor who did the chastising this time,  
"Loki, please."  
Loki glared at Thor,  
"What? All I speak is the truth!" Thor turned his head, and tried to block out the sound, Loki wasn't done,  
"What it wants? We know what it wants Banner!! Look at him! It's breaking him. It's tearing him apart from the inside out. It's killing him! He grows weaker every single day whilst this thing continues to grow stronger! It's feeding off of his life! But what will it do when there's nothing left?"

"LOKI THAT IS ENOUGH!!"

Loki flinched at Thor's loud interruption, but then the brothers glared at eachother, breathing hard. After a moment Loki tore his gaze away from Thor and looked to Banner, who looked rather uncomfortable, he said,  
"Bruce, tell him what you told me and Valkyrie yesterday."  
Banner glared at Loki but grew uncomfortable again when he saw Thor's intrigued gaze in his direction. Bruce sighed heavily and stood from his chair, walking to Thor's bed side,  
"After I was done checking up on you yesterday I noticed something. I went and told those two when I was sure you weren't in the room because I thought you wouldn't want to know."  
Banner finished, glaring at Loki again. Thor's brow furrowed,  
"What is it?" He asked. His voice had turned quiet again. Banner was really reluctant to say, his eyes wouldn't meet Thor's for a moment until he finally relented,  
"The virus isn't compatible with your body anymore. Like Loki said, it gets it's strength from you and as it grows stronger you continue to grow weaker. It does seem like this thing is tearing you apart and it's getting faster everyday, I can't stop this and I can't do anything to slow it down."

Thor's gaze shifted to the window and he closed his eyes. Loki then moved away from the corner and walked over to Thor's bed side as well,  
"What can you do? What can anyone do?" He asked, not taking his eyes off his brother. Banner shrugged and shook his head,  
"Like we've established, we don't know what this is therefore we don't know how to stop it, but at this rate, with how fragile he is now...his heart could give out before we even know."

Thor opened his eyes and faced both the other men in the room, he spoke,  
"Well then I'll keep going for as long as I can." There was a light in his eyes as he spoke, something that they hadn't seen in him for a while. It was determination, one of the only things that he still possessed. Banner couldn't handle it. He stood and made to exit the room, he paused at the door and looked back to the two Asgardians,  
"I'm sorry, both of you, but there's really nothing else I can do. I'm so sorry that I've let you down and if there was anything I could do to make this all go away I know that myself or the other guy would do it in a heartbeat. I'm so sorry Thor."  
Banner left the room.

Loki stared after him for a moment before scoffing and shaking his head,  
"So he's just giving up then. Nice. Great friend you have there brother."  
Thor whirled his head around to face Loki,  
"It's not his fault Loki." He said sharply, he really wasn't in the mood to listen to his brother insult his friends. Loki came closer to Thor,  
"You need people who are willing to help you." He said  
"Loki I can get through this." Thor was trying to reassure him,  
"I didn't ask for this brother. No one asked for this, but it happened and we'll just have to accept things for what they are."

Loki stared wide eyed at Thor, he had a look of pure disbelief on his face,  
"So what then? You're giving up as well?"  
Thor shook his head and thought about how to put what he wanted to say into words. Loki cut in before he could even speak,  
"We don't know how to deal with it so you're just going to give up? Is that what you're telling me?! Do I not even get a say in this? We're brothers, Thor!! After everything that Thanos did to us, you're just going to make me watch you die....You're just going to leave me.."  
Thor tried to reach out to Loki but he turned away from Thor, he shook his head in desperation trying to make his brother understand,  
"Loki, please don't see it that way."  
Loki looked back over his shoulder, Thor's eyes widened as he saw tears there,  
"Oh I don't think there is any other way to see it, Thor. Because it ends with me losing you, and I can't accept that."  
Loki walked away and slammed the door as he left the room. 

A few more days went by and everything seemed only to get worse, Thor couldn't even make it upstairs to his own room now so he spent most of the day on the couch. He became tired more and more often and slept through most days entirely. It was what he was doing now actually. The Guardians had finished mending their ship but didn't see fit to leave. They helped Loki as much as possible with Thor. They would talk to him, read to him, bring him water, wharever they thought would help. Valkyrie was sitting at Thor's feet and the Guardians were all sitting on the floor watching T.V, it fascinated everyone as they watched some form of sports game where groups of men would kick a ball around a pitch, scoring points by shooting it into a net. Whilst it did keep Thor entertained, he found their fascination with it alot more amusing. This is how most days had gone for the last couple of weeks, the atmosphere was about as grey as a rainy day. The mood felt like it too. 

Loki was leaning against the wall, only slightly paying attention to the game on the T.V, his thoughts were otherwise occupied. He heard a quiet groan and looked over to the couch to see Thor was stirring, his eyes were squinted shut and he gritted his teeth, he stayed like that for a minute before turning to the his other side and falling back asleep. Groot stretched his arm to reach Thor and pressed down lightly on his chest, making Thor wince but he didn't wake up,  
"I am Groot." The _Flora Collosus_ looked sad. Rocket frowned at turned to Loki,  
"It broke another one of his ribs."  
Loki came closer to them and sat on the arm of the couch beside Valkyrie, he turned all of his attention to Thor. Another rib, that was the fourth one this week.

Thor did wake up then, he was breathing heavily, he made a face, one that said he was uncomfortable,  
"Too warm, brother?" Loki asked.  
Thor nodded. Loki gave Valkyrie a signal to move, she obeyed and switched places with Loki. He squeezed in next to Thor on the couch. Using his Jotun abilities, he managed to cool Thor down almost instantly. Thor relaxed and held Loki close. They stayed in that position with their arms around eachother, making Valkyrie smile at them. They hadn't really spoken since their argument in Banner's office, seeing them like this was like a breath of fresh air in the room.

The game finished and people started moving around. Valkyrie wandered off, the Guardians went back outside to their ship to continue repairs. Loki and Thor stayed right where they were. Thor had drifted off slightly again, Loki just stared at him, as he looked at his brother's frail form Loki honestly couldn't believe that he'd had the heart to shout at him in the first place. He knew that Thor would never give up on himself. He never gave up on anything. Sure he'd only lost his temper because he was terrified at the thought of losing Thor. But this wasn't about him, Thor needed Loki on his side now more than ever and he'd left him alone again. 

When they were alone after a while whilst everyone went into the kitchen, Loki picked his head up from Thor's chest to look him in the eyes and after a few seconds spoke,  
"I'm sorry."  
Thor smiled weakly, Loki didn't want that to be the end of it, he continued,  
"It's just..I'm just..I'm scared Thor. This thing is getting stronger and unless we find a way to..remove it...We're running out of time. Hearing you in Banner's office the other day, I really thought that you were just giving up."  
He was surprised by his brother's soft laughter, it wasn't mockery, there was genuine happiness written all over his face,  
"When have you ever known me to give up? I told you, surrender's not in my nature." He said rubbing a hand up and down Loki's back as if to comfort him. It was those words that made Loki see the real Thor, brave, happy, strong, though Thor would always be strong in Loki's eyes, no matter how thin he currently was.

Thor then lifted his own head from the cushion and took Loki's face into his hands, making Loki look him in the eye as he said this,  
"Now you listen to me because these are the most honest words that I will ever say to you, I promise you, I will keep my heart beating for as long as I can, even if this thing really does tear me apart, there's no way in Hel I will go down without a fight." Thor released Loki and lay back down. 

Loki just looked at Thor with wide eyes, never in his whole life had he felt the admiration and respect and love that he felt for his brother in that moment. It shot through his body like a bullet, hitting him hard in the chest. For the first time in weeks, Loki smiled, that was the Thor he knew. That was his brother. Loki lay his head down on Thor's shoulder and kept smiling as he closed his eyes. The God of Thunder's words made Loki even more determined to save him than ever, but when he heard another faint crack and heard Thor hiss slightly at another fracture, Loki knew that they were running out of time.

That night when Thor was still sleeping deeply, Loki left the sofa to get some air outside, not that the house wasn't cold enough, it most definitely was. Loki was just able to clear his mind easier when he was outdoors. When he breathed in the winter air, he could see it as he exhaled again. He stayed there for many minutes but whirled around to face the indoors when he heard Brunhilde's shouting that sounded like there had been a murder,  
"LACKEY?! HEY LACKEY?!!" She bombarded into the lounge and Loki was honestly surprised and grateful that Thor remained asleep with the amount of noise she was making. But her expression did make him slightly nervous and he could feel the dread clawing up his throat. _What's happened now..._

She was beckoning him over wildly and now Loki really was intrigued, if not a little worried. Loki came back inside and Brunhilde bounded back up stairs, catching Loki completely off guard. He ran after her, trying to keep up until he screeched to a halt when he caught her at the doors of the library. When she saw that he'd followed, she opened the doors.  
"What're we doing here, Brunhilde?" Loki asked, huffing and puffing a little. A devilish smile creeped onto her face and she slipped into the room that was dark save for two lit candles near the corner. Lying in the chair between the tables with the two candles, was a large book. It was open near the back page. Loki was now officially freaked out, what the hell had she brought him here for? He regained his stoic look and glared at her unimpressed,  
"What? Did you want a bedtime story or something?" She glared at him and placed a hand over her pocket where she kept her dagger, eyebrows raising as if she was daring him to make another remark. Loki sighed and took a seat, waiting patiently for her to explain. 

After a moment of glaring at eachother, the Valkyrie took a seat too, right next to him and pulled the large book into her lap so that both of them could see what was on the page. Clearing her throat, Brunhilde began speaking,  
"After Lady Wanda left us last week, I've been coming in and out of here, what she said to us just kept replaying in my head. So I decided to do some research." She stopped when Loki looked up to her in overexaggerated surprise,  
"You can read?" Loki asked mockingly and was rewarded with a sharp smack to the head. She didn't storm off though, Loki knew then that this must be important. He allowed her to proceed.

"As I was saying, I decided to do some research. On Vanaheim, on mages from Vanaheim, Creatures, anything that sounded familiar to what Wanda told us. Vanaheim is the realm of magic and sorcery so at first I was certain that it was a mage that had done this to Thor. But then I figured if it was that, then you'd have already come to the same conclusion before me, so I looked further..." She heaved the book in her lap closer to him so that he could look at the page open in front of him. Loki recognised the book now, it was one that his tutor would read to him and Thor when they were children. It wrote about creatures from other realms, some of those creatures were Asgard's biggest threats at the time. He remembered reading about the frost giants in there, as well as the dark elves...

"You still with me Lackey?" Valkyrie waved a hand in front of his face and Loki shook away his thoughts and focused his attention on what she was showing him. It was a double page, written only in black ink with no image unlike the other creatures in the book. At the top of the page there was one word written in large letters.

_Windscreamer._

Loki had heard that name before, but he'd never seen one in person, there was no drawing in the book of the creature so Loki read the passage below the heading.

_The Windscreamer is a magical creature from Vanaheim. They are an endangered race of monsters, which is strange as no one has ever seen what the creature looks like. People who claim to have seen one have described the Windscreamer as nothing more than a black mist with a deafening roar towards its victims. Windscreamers are deadly demons who lure in their victims by taking the form of that what he or she loves in order to trap them._

Just like Thor thought he'd seen Loki before he was attacked. Loki carried on reading.

_Windscreamers are known as the demons of Vanaheim for their ability to lure and possess even the most powerful beings. They feed on their victims once entering and possessing the body and gain their strength by feeding on their life force until the victim eventually succumbs and dies from weakness. They can manipulate their victims into doing what it wants which makes the possession easier since the victim will have no memory of being possessed._

Loki could feel his insides twisting with every word. The feeling of dread was clawing it's way back up again, but Loki couldn't stop now.

_There has been no given theory on how to remove the creature from its victim, the cases of those who have been possessed have all resulted in death._

Loki was gasping for breath when he tore his gaze from the book and let it slide off his lap, hitting the floor with a loud _thunk._  
"Sound familiar?" Loki then remembered he wasn't alone when the voice next to him nearly gave him a heart attack. He turned to Brunhilde who was giving him a look of concern. She looked at the book that was now laying awkwardly on the floor,  
"As soon as I read that passage, I came to find you, the way this book describes it, it's exactly like Wanda said." Loki was too deep in thought to respond. A creature, a creature had done this to his brother? Loki was a mixture of different emotions at that moment, he was relieved, they had finally found what had done this to Thor. But Loki couldn't stop thinking about the last few words of the passage,

_the cases of those who had been possessed, have all resulted in death._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter made me sad :( just warning ya it don't get much happier for a while, but I hope you like it anyway :) more to come soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Breaking underneath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Thor takes a turn for the worse, Valkyrie goes to get drink but realises somethingwhen talking to Banner and now they think they have a way to remove the Black mist from Thor's body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Down to the last few chapters now!! Thank you all who left kudos on chapter 7, I really appreciate it, you all make my day!! Here we go..

As the dull morning light leaked through the window, Loki's eyes cracked open, he groaned before turning over and trying to get back to sleep. Nope. He'd hardly slept at all. Everytime he finally dozed off, he'd wake again soon after, weather it was from nightmares or the fact that his worry was too overwhelming to let him sleep. It was the first time in days that he hadn't slept next to Thor. Or rather Thor slept and Loki just watched, keeping alert like a watchdog. Brunhilde must've noticed that Loki hadn't been sleeping because last night after they left the library, she practically forced him upstairs to his room and said that she would watch Thor, she said that Loki was helping Thor by keeping himself healthy as well. He did have to admit, she had a point.

Well technically he had slept and it was now morning, so he was going downstairs to see his brother. He threw back the heavy covers and ran his hands through his long black hair trying to tame it. With a snap of his fingers, Loki was dressed and clean and ready for the day. He left the room and walked down the stairs, the smell of food was very welcome. The bottom of the stairs led to the lounge where Thor was still on the couch, much to Loki's surprise, he was awake, kind of.

Thor didn't even seem to notice Loki as he sauntered past and into the kitchen where Valkyrie was making breakfast. She didn't even look up when he entered,  
"Was wondering how long it would take for you to wake up." She sounded like she hadn't slept much either. Loki scoffed and poured himself some orange juice,  
"Good morning to you too."  
Valkyrie didn't say anything else. It wasn't like her not to come up with some sort if witty remark that would start their usual banter that could go on for absolutely hours. Loki knew it must be serious. Not likely good news, he grew serious then too,  
"Brunhilde what's wrong?" 

Valkyrie stopped what she was doing and stayed frozen like that for a minute before sighing and speaking,  
"Might as well tell you, didn't sleep last night. Neither did he." She finished, pointing over to the back of the couch where Thor lay. Loki put down his glass,  
"At all?" He questioned. She just shook her head,  
"He didn't sleep, didn't speak a word, he just stayed like that all night. No matter how many times I talked to him he wouldn't respond. He moved around alot though so I'm guessing that the pain's still there."

Loki leaned back against the counter,  
"Well you try having four ribs broken, I'm sure you'd be in pain as well." He stated dryly causing her to throw a spoon at him, which he dodged easily. She stopped making breakfast all together then and leaned over the counter as well, placing her head in her hands, groaning loudly,  
"I can't do this." Her voice was muffled behind her hands. When Loki was about to ask what she meant by that, she moved away from the counter and opened the cupboards. Loki couldn't see her face but when he heard gulping noises and saw the bottle that was slammed down on to the counter he asked,  
"What the Hel is that?"  
Brunhilde closed the cupboard, face becoming visible and picked up the bottle again. She took a long chug of the liquid before answering,  
"Breakfast." And went back to drinking. Loki gave her a look,  
"It's nine 'o' clock in the morning Brunhilde."  
The Valkyrie didn't care. She abandoned the food and made to leave the room when she stood in the doorway, she turned her head back to him,  
"I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take Lackey. You want to sit around all day just waiting for him to get worse then be my guest but I can't watch this anymore. So I'm gonna go get drunk, join me if you wish."  
She slammed the door behind her when she left the house.

Loki just looked at the door she'd walked out of. Give her time, he thought to himself. She'll be back. But Loki couldn't help but think she was right. But it wasn't like they could do much else for Thor apart from keep him comfortable. They now knew what was wrong with Thor, but the book didn't say anything on how to get it out of him. Brunhilde wasn't the only one who felt like that, God knows that Loki felt completely useless that he couldn't do anything to help his brother, but Thor had promised him that he would hold on. And he hadn't broken that promise yet, so as long as Thor kept his promise, Loki wouldn't give up. He'd save his brother. He just had to find out how.

Loki finished what Brunhilde started with the food and after serving himself, he put the leftovers in the fridge, with the Guardians around, it most certainly wouldn't go to waste. When he was done he discarded the plate into the sink, filled a glass with water and stalked back into the lounge. He placed the water on the table behind Thor's head. Loki didn't bother moving Thor as he turned on the T.V and instead he squeezed in next to him like he had been doing, Thor didn't say a word but he put an arm around his brother to make him more comfortable and they spent the rest of the early morning pretending to listen to daytime television. If Thor really didn't have long left, Loki wanted to make these moments last.

Valkyrie did leave with the intent of getting drunk, just like she always did when she felt stressed, or just when she felt like it, she entered the first bar that she saw. It was pretty much deserted, not that she was surprised it was rather early. But she was immensely surprised to see Banner there, slumped over a table, surrounded by empty beer bottles. Had he been here all night? Brunhilde instantly forgot her sole purpose for coming here and walked over to Banner's table, he looked like he'd just woken up.  
"Rough night?" She asked, making him jump. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before responding,  
"Sorry, I didn't see you come in." Yep, he was exhausted, and probably hung over. Brunhilde pulled up a stool and sat down next to him,  
"You been here all night?" She asked. He sighed heavily and then nodded.  
"Been coming in and out of here for the last few days, helps clear my head, you know? Keeps the hulk at bay anyways, which is good because the other guy is probably the last thing anyone needs right now. Especially Thor."

Valkyrie deflated at the mention of Thor's name. Bruce didn't notice and continued,  
"It's just that...I'm a scientist, not a doctor, but I'm the closest thing this place has to a doctor so I was totally on board with helping Thor out. He's one of my best friends, you know? And everything was fine right up until Wanda showed him what it was making him ill. Since then everything's only gotten worse and the worst part is...I can't do anything to help him anymore. It's crushing him bit by bit, breaking his bones. It's like it's sucking the life out of him, and no one knows how to stop it because no one knows what the damn thing is!! The only thing that Wanda told us was that it was like a black mist that's now in his body...what the hell am I supposed to do about that? He's my best friend, my dying best friend and I can't even help him when he needs it the most. What kind of friend does that make me?"

They were both aware that Bruce had gone into a full on ramble but Brunhilde didn't mind, the poor guy was tearing himself apart about this. He needed to talk about this. And there was a good chance he was still slightly intoxicated. She clasped his shoulder to comfort him,  
"Listen, none of this is your fault. I know that you feel useless about this, Hel knows that I do, but that's just because Thor's our friend, that's what's making this so hard, I can only imagine how Lackey's handling all of this, but we can't give up. We may be on the clock but we don't give up without a fight. So how's this, if I stop feeling sorry for myself, you have to stop blaming yourself as well. Deal?"  
Bruce smile at the Valkyrie's words. He gave a nod and she gripped his shoulder even tighter, giving him a little shake.

After a few minutes of silence, Banner looked over to the Valkyrie, she looked...conflicted? Like she was debating whether or not to say something,  
"What is it?" He asked and Brunhilde jumped. She stared at him frozen before sighing and slumpingin her chair. She figured this was a good a time as any to tell him about last night. She told him everything, what she found in the book, what the Windscreamers are, and most importantly, it was the thing that was now killing their friend. Banner didn't dare interrupt her as she explained. She suddenly looked disheartened and then told him that there was nothing they could do. After just listening to her speech about what she'd found out, Banner wasn't going to have that. Finally, they were onto something!  
"No. No, after everything you've just said, there's no way in Hel I'm giving up now! Do you understand Val? We know what it is now! You found out what it is! There has to be some way we can kill the thing!" Brunhilde was shocked at Banner's outburst, but then she shook her head again,  
"After forcing Lackey to go to bed last night, I was up the rest of the night trying to find anything else on the little bastards. Nothing. The passage I found is all we have and it even says that no one has survived this before."   
But Banner wasn't discouraged for a second, he was barely containing his excitement now,  
"Val, there's always a weakness. No creature is so tough that it can't be destroyed. It was only months ago that we all destroyed the most powerful being in the universe. We can handle a demon." it was like Banner had been brought back to life. Brunhilde couldn't stop her smile.

The two made the decision to leave the bar and started walking together back to the house. Because of the winter months, the skies were already starting to go dark. The bitter cold winter air made it hard not to shiver as it sauntered through them. Valkyrie cursed herself for not bringing out a coat in November and wrapped her arms around herself to retain some warmth. Bruce took notice of this and took his jacket off before placing it around the Valkyrie's shoulders. She did protest at first,  
"What about you, you'll freeze." Bruce just smiled and shook his head, his way of telling her not to worry about it before they continued walking. She pretended not to notice that Bruce was starting to shiver as she knew that he was to kind to accept the jacket back if she offered. 

Bruce broke the silence,  
"God I don't know how Thor could stand to have the windows open and still be too warm in weather like this." She half smiled at the lighthearted comment,  
"I don't know, the monster craves the cold like it lives off it or something. It doesn't like heat in the slightest." Brunhilde revealed her still healing arm to emphasise her point. Bruce cringed, one touch, one touch was all it took to cause that. Bruce didn't blame Thor for it though, he was just doing what the thing inside him told him to do. When he snapped out of his trance he noticed that Brunhilde had stopped walking. He looked back and saw she was a few steps behind,  
"You okay?" He asked. Valkyrie snapped her head up to face him, her expression was incredulous,  
"It needs the cold." She said. Bruce's brow furrowed,  
"What?" Valkyrie caught up to him in three quick steps,  
"We need to get to your office, bring Loki as well." She took off in a sprint. Banner followed her and tried as best he could to catch up with her,  
"What!..Val..What're you..What's going on?!" He panted.  
Brunhilde stopped running and stared at him,  
"I think I know how to get it out."

As soon as they got back they went charging into the lounge, Thor on the couch sleeping, Loki in the chair next to him reading a book. Loki jumped slightly at the loud bang of the door and looked at them both in alarm,  
"Thought you went to get hammered." Loki said to Brunhilde after coming to his senses. She shook her head and came closer,  
"We need to talk. Now." Loki looked past her and saw the look that Banner was giving him as well. Brunhilde began walking around the room, shutting every open window she saw. She turned off the fan nearby Thor's head and ran downstairs without saying anything else. Too intrigued to question, he followed the Valkyrie and the scientist into Banner's office.

"So what's this about?" Loki asked when he closed the door behind him. Bruce nodded to Brunhilde and she stepped forward,  
"We think we have a way to get the black mist out if Thor."  
Loki froze, his heart stopped,  
"What?" He rasped out. A smile grew on the other two faces. Banner spoke,  
"It was actually Val's idea, it's awesome."  
Loki stayed frozen for a few moments until he turned to Brunhilde,  
"How?" He asked, voice eerily quiet.  
Valkyrie sat down before speaking again,  
"We've been doing it wrong." Loki's brow creased and he was just even more confused. He motioned for her to explain, she continued,  
"We thought that by keeping him cold, we'd be keeping him safer. I mean, we've all seen what this thing can do. We've been giving this thing what it wants. We haven't been helping Thor, we've been helping the demon inside his body. Because of the hold it now has on his body, Thor has to be cold for it to feel cold. It hates heat, it hurts it." 

Loki shook his head and massaged his temple, trying to process this information,  
"What're you saying Brunhilde? Is that why you were acting like a mad woman in there, running around anf shutting all the windows."  
Valkyrie rolled her eyes but nodded,  
"By keeping him cold we've been helping the demon stay strong. Strong enough to weaken Thor's body as much as it has."  
Loki stormed over to her,  
"So how do we get it out Brunhilde?" He asked through gritted teeth. Brunhilde stood up so that Loki wasn't towering over her,  
"It's really not that hard to figure out Lackey, if the virus needs the cold to stay alive, then.."

"We'd have to burn it out to kill it." Loki interrupted. Valkyrie didn't snap at having been interrupted, the smile on her face only grew. Bruce came over and joined in with the conversation,  
"So what's the plan?" He asked. The room went quiet. Loki looked between them both and sighed before sitting down. He was deep in thought for quite a while. Suddenly Loki spoke,  
"Well we could just do it gradually, make the room increasingly hotter until it's unbearable. But what about when it actually does leave Thor's body? There is still the matter of destroying it."  
Bruce began pacing the room, he was deep in thought as well, he turned to them both with a hand on his chin,  
"That shouldn't matter, if we get it too hot then it will destroy itself. We'll have to restrain him again, we can't risk anything going wrong, he's weak enough as it is. Guys, if we make one wrong move in this, we could lose him, there's already alot of pressure on his heart, if we're going to do this then we've got to do it carefully and quickly, the second it's out if him, we kill the son of a bitch." 

When the three came back to the lounge, Thor was awake and Rocket, Groot, Quill, Mantis and Gamora were there with him. Groot was sat on the floor playing his game and the other four were watching TV. Groot was the first to notice them enter,  
"I am Groot." He said with a wave. Then everyone else turned their eyes to the three. Thor roused from his place on the couch and turned over slightly to face them properly.  
"Hey" he said with a warm smile in his face mostly directed at Loki and Loki smiled back. As soon as he moved, he made a face and Loki worried for a second that he'd noticed the windows were shut.  
"Quill, tree, could you help me up?" He asked and Quill rolled his eyes,  
"Again big guy? Really?"  
"Hey I drank alot of water today!" Thor said defensive. Loki inwardly sighed in relief. Quill and Groot very slowly held onto his hands and carefully helped Thor onto his feet. Thor did wobble a little bit as he hadn't been on two legs for days, unless he needed the bathroom like he did right now. But he soon caught his balance, Quill and Groot held onto him anyway to be on the safe side. 

When they began to lead him away, Thor's hand brushed against the empty glass that Loki had left him this morning. The glass wobbled a little before sliding off the table. Thor saw it and when he saw the glass plummeting to the floor, he acted on instinct and leaned down to try and catch it. When Thor leaned down there was suddenly the most sickening crack that echoed throughout the room. Thor gasped and yelped, standing back up almost immediately, he had both arms around his middle but what caught Loki's attention more than the snapping, was the weird angle of his brother's body, it was like he was folded in half backwards. Everyone stared in shock and horror as Thor's legs gave out under him and he collapsed to his knees, a crack rang out from them as well when they made contact with the floor. Thor began to fall backwards and that was what broke Loki out if his frozen state. He dashed forward, his arm outstretched and just before Thor's head hit the hard floor, Loki caught it and held it. Everyone in the room surrounded Thor and held his body up from the floor. A second later, Thor screamed. Not just a small shriek of pain, it was a blood curdling, ear piercing screech of agony. Loki ran his hand through Thor's shorn hair and rubbed at the beads of sweat on his forehead though he could see the little pools of red building up at the back of Thor's throat, he could hear Quill, Rocket, Banner all yelling to do something but Loki was too much in shock, he suddenly locked eyes with his brother, blue against green and it clicked, they were in the end game now. Loki wanted nothing more than to dissapear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duh duh duunnnn!!! Sorry to leave yas with a cliffhanger but the next chapter will be up soon! Promise. Please don't hate me!!


	9. Chapter 9: The Windscreamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor's now in the fight for his life and Loki is doing everything he can to save his brother by putting their plan into action and destroying the Windscreamer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after I put up the chapter last night I was instantly working on the next one, I just couldn't wait to write it. Here you go.. quick warning there will be blood and violence in this chapter so if you don't like that stuff then this probably isn't for you. Everyone else, enjoy :)

What happened next was all such a blur, they managed to lift Thor's frail form with ease and they carried him away,  
"GET HIM IN!! GET HIM IN NOW!!" Banner's voice boomed out as everyone worked together to carry Thor into his office. As soon as they entered, white blinding lights filled the room and computers turned on. Quill and Loki took extra care in placing Thor onto the bed, but it didn't seem to make a difference, Thor was still screaming. His legs were sprawled out at a weird angle, an angle that just didn't look natural. Bruce attached something to Thor and connected the wire to his computer, the images of the x-rays opened onto the screen, Banner stared at them whilst Thor screamed bloody murder behind him. After a few seconds he turned to them with a grim expression,  
"His spine..." Banner couldn't even finish his sentence, he didn't have to.

Loki shouted above Thor's screams,  
"Bruce we have to get it out of him now!!"  
Thor's eyes opened and the blue was again replaced by the deep black pools, he growled and lashed out when people began advancing on him but they payed the thing inside him no attention. Rocket and Gamora held Thor's wrists down whilst Brunhilde bound them to the bed. The creature was relentless and continued to fight back against the restraints, causing the bed to shake around as it thrashed. Quill, Groot and Gamora all did their best to hold him down but this thing was now very strong. The lights flickered in the room as the creature struggled to break free. Quill looked at Banner over his shoulders,  
"What do we do? How do we get it out?" His voice was slightly strained as he continued to struggle with Thor.  
"We have to burn the thing out of his body, whatever you can find that you think will do the job, bring it, and hurry were running out of time!!" 

Gamora and Valkyrie both fled from the room,  
"Hey guys I could really do with a hand over here.." Quill started too late as the girls already left the room and he was now the only one holding Thor down. Loki saw a radiator and he darted over to it. He put it on full power so the room would start heating up quickly. Banner turned on the electric fire place to add even more heat to the room. Loki could see the sweat building up on Thor's head already and it only made him writhe more. Mantis placed a hand on his forehead, and concentrated, she grunted slightly,  
"It's hard to see past it but I can still hear him. I can still feel his feelings. He is scared, he is in tremendous pain, he is still in there."  
Loki's eyes darted to her, Thor was still in there, the creature hadn't taken his body yet. 

Thor started yelling out from the pain the heat brought, but it wasn't his voice, it was the pained howl of the Windscreamer. Loki could only smirk sadistically, the hotter it got, the closer they would be to killing it. They were getting closer, but it still wasn't enough. Loki growled in frustration and moved to the foot of the bed, he began muttering a spell under his breath and a green aura flowed from his hands up to his finger tips before escaping onto the bed, it covered Thor's body like vines. Enveloping him in green. To Thor, his brother's Seidr felt like fire dancing over his body. Whatever pain the creature felt, Thor felt tenfold, it was like he was being burned alive.

However whilst Loki was busy, he broke the spell on the cuffs and as Thor kept struggling, the binds on his left wrist snapped and his hand was now free. Unfortunately, as he was the closest, Thor's hand snatched Quill by the throat and held on tightly. Gamora grabbed Thor's wrist trying desperately to pry it off of Quill's throat but it was too strong. Quill gasped and choked and he was also trying in vain to get the hand from round his neck. Loki wanted to help but he couldn't stop his magic now, he could tell now that they were getting close. The feeling of Deja Vu he felt at seeing someone get strangled was almost enough to break his concentration. But instead, he channeled the anger and it made his magic stronger. However Loki was starting to get tired from using so much magic and was honestly unsure how much longer he could keep it up. 

Thor pressed harder on Quill's throat, knuckles turning white from the pressure, Quill was starting to lose consciousness, his eyes rolling back into his head. Suddenly, Valkyrie came storming back into the room, she pushed past the guys in her way, there was something in her hand. Loki saw the object in her hand and didn't know whether to be proud or alarmed, she produced her dragonfang, but the blade was glowing red. From heat no doubt, so that's why she took so long. Out of fear that she was about to stab Thor, Banner and Loki shouted at her, told her not to do it but she didn't listen. Without a second thought, Brunhilde pressed the blade against Thor's side. 

The demon screeched from within Thor's body and Loki heard the screeching slowly changing back into his brother's voice. Thor let go of Quill's throat and he fell back, coughing hard. Gamora helped him up and took him out if the room. Thor's eyes screwed shut before opening again, they were blue again. He turned shaking to Brunhilde,  
"Stop! That's enough! It wants to get out! It wants to get out! Stop it please!!" Thor was begging and there were tears streaming down his face. He could feel the creature pushing through his body, past his broken ribs, his cracked spine it was making it way through his body trying to find a way out. Brunhilde pulled the sword away from Thor's side and let it clatter to the floor beside her. Loki stopped his magic and came over so that he was next to Thor. He took his hand and held on tightly and Thor did the same. 

Thor couldn't even scream anymore his voice was so worn out. He was so tired, he was drenched in sweat. He kept moving around on the bed, gasping and groaning in pain. It was unbearable, every second worse than the last as it moved around his body like it was lost. It couldn't get out. Thor turned his head to Loki, shaking,  
"It's trapped." His voice wavered. Loki's eyes widened, it was trapped? It wanted to get out but couldn't. They had to think of something, if they didn't remove it now, it would kill him.  
"What do we do?" Bruce asked. Brunhilde looked grim, like she was about to throw up. Her eyes met Thor's and he nodded to her, it was the only way. She tore the fabric of Thor's shirt to get to skin. Thor wasn't wrong, it was literally pushing to get out of him. It would gladly rip Thor open if it meant it would be released.  
"We have to make a way out." She actually had to force the words from her lips.

Loki, Banner and Rocket balked at her. She could tell by their expressions that they knew what she meant but they had to ask anyway,  
"What?" Loki whispered. He looked down when he felt Thor squeeze his hand tighter,  
"Cut it out." Thor rasped. Loki shook his head and pulled his hand from Thor's grip,  
"No..no! No!" He said over and over again. Thor just smiled sadly at him. Loki heard the sound of metal and looked to see Valkyrie had pulled out her knife, she was about to bring it down on Thor's stomach when Loki's hand caught hers and they struggled against eachother,  
"There has to be another way to do this!!" Loki bellowed. Valkyrie pushed against Loki's hands,  
"There's no time Lackey, he's dying!" She hissed. Loki looked at Thor eyes begging for him to come up with another solution. But Thor's eyes were squinted shut from the pain,  
"DO IT! BEFORE IT RIPS ME APART! PLEASE LOKI IT HURTS!" He bellowed out. Rocket scrambled from his chair and grabbed Groot's hand leading him away from the room, Mantis followed as she knew that this was something she probably wasn't going to want to see.

Loki was torn on what to do, cutting Thor open now was far to risky, he was within inches of death, but if they didn't get it out now, the demon would kill his brother.  
"It's the only way." Came the gentle voice of Thor, he knew his brother was right. Loki let go of Brunhilde's hands and came back to his brother's side,  
"Do it." He said.  
Valkyrie brought the knife down on Thor's stomach, cutting deep across it. Blood spilled out from the skin and ran in all directions. Loki had to look away when Thor squeezed his eyes shut, tears flowing heavily down his face, he didn't even have the energy to scream, he whimpered, he clawed at the bedsheets, tearing into them with his fingers. 

Valkyrie dropped the bloody knife and she moved away from the end of the bed. A split second later the room was a whirlwind of black as the Windscreamer fled from Thor's body through the incision. It howled as it filled the room like a giant shadow. Loki knew that it had to be destroyed, he concentrated his magic to the best he possibly could, he shouted spell after spell making sure the monster heard him. Much to his dismay, it burned the demon, hurt it, but it wasn't enough to kill it. Loki looked around the room frantically, desperate to find something to kill it. There was suddenly a flash of blue and Brunhilde, Bruce and Loki covered their eyes to protect them from the blinding light. When Loki caught a glimpse of lightning out of the corner if his eye, his gaze landed back on Thor, slowly unsheilding his eyes. There was lightning emerging from Thor, but this time it was willingly, the lightning chased the Windscreamer and covered the room with the white electric light. Thor was still fighting, he was broken, inches from death and he could still summon his lightning. Even though part of Loki wanted to tell Thor to stop before he kills himself, Loki couldn't have been prouder of his big brother.

The lightning did it's job. The electrifying heat surrounding the Windscreamer was what destroyed it. It whined in pain and defeat until it imploded with the lightning and died with a deafening howl. They were all forced to cover their eyes again as there was another flash. The creature faded into dust that floated to the floor. All was still, all was quiet. Thor had done it, he was free. Loki couldn't help the laughter that escaped him, Brunhilde joined in as well. Banner popped his head up from behind the bed where he'd been hiding, he looked around the room,  
"Holy shit." He'd read everyone's thoughts.

Loki looked back to Thor and suddenly his smile was gone. The wound on his stomach was still fresh and open and still bleeding heavily. The bottom half of the matress was practically soaked in blood, Thor had never looked so weak in his life, but he saw that Thor was smiling. It was small, yet warm and gentle, he was too exhausted to even smile. Loki smiled back and took his hand again,  
"It's over Thor. It's gone now, you're safe. I'll heal your wound and then you'll just have to rest a bit longer okay? Thor?"  
Thor was still smiling but his eyes were fluttering closed. Loki began to panic,  
"Hey. Hey! Don't fall asleep Thor, not just yet. Lets just keep talking a little longer okay, you don't even have to say anything if you're too tired, just listen but keep your eyes open. Okay? Okay brother?"  
Thor did the tiniest nod if his head but his eyes were still slipping shut. Loki's heart clenched in his chest and he shook Thor to try and wake him,  
"Hey now, come on that's not funny. Thor? Brother please you remember your promise don't you? You promised me that you would hold on. Just keep your heart beating Thor, don't let this take you without a fight!" There was a small silence.

"..Loki.." It was the faintest of whispers before Thor stopped breathing. He missed one heartbeat, two, and then Loki was shaking him, the fear became Loki in that moment,  
"Thor? Thor!?" Loki shook him again before starting compressions on his chest. Brunhilde was at his side instantly, she placed her bloodied hands over his,  
"I've got this, close the wound before he bleeds out."  
Loki bolted to the foot of the bed where the open wound stared at him, using his Seidr, Loki began to heal his brother. It was a simple healing spell that his mother taught him when he was little, she'd taught it to him after Thor was injured whilst they were playing. He hadn't felt the need to use it much since then so he was rather shocked that he'd remembered the spell. 

Slowly, the blood running over Thor's middle started retreating back into the wound, of course Loki couldn't get all of the blood that Thor had lost back inside his body but he'd managed to save a good deal of it. The skin and muscle that had been severed started weaving back together. Loki just prayed for it to go faster, he was already exhausted. Soon the large cut was nothing more than a simple scar across his middle. That scar would be there forever, Loki had no doubt of that. Valkyrie was still doing chest compressions and Bruce was just leaning back against the wall. He looked like he was about to.cry. it was like Loki could read his thought just by looking at his face,  
We're too late. 

"Leave then!!" Loki snapped at him, as he started using his healing magic on the rest of Thor's body, his chest, his broken spine anything that was damaged. If Banner wasn't going to be useful then he could go away. Bruce just looked at him stunned, before he slowly walked out if the room. Banner dragged his feet through the house, back into the lounge. Several pairs of eyes turned his way when he walked in. Quill was on the couch with some ice pressed against his throat, Gamora's head was resting on his shoulder. Groot was in the chair and Rocket was perched on the arm of it with his arm around the little tree. Drax had his arm around Mantis and they were both stood near the doorway. Bruce didn't know what it was, whether it was the hopeful and intrigued gazes of the Guardians or just the incredible grief he felt, but he broke down in the doorway of the room. He hid his face in his hands and his back slid down the wall as he slumped to the floor. He couldn't face any of them but he heard the gasps as they figured out what was wrong. Rocket bolted from his chair and looked down at Banner's shaking form,  
"He didn't make it." He said suddenly grief-stricken. Banner lifted his head to look at the mournful faces of the Guardians but he didn't have the heart to say anything.

"Come on...Come on!!" Loki kept saying as he carried on with the compressions. Valkyrie was just standing in the corner of the room, she wasn't crying, but if someone touched her, she knew she would break. The fact that her friend was dead and Loki was so desperately trying to fix his body and bring him back just broke her heart bit by bit. She couldn't handle it anymore, she slipped out of the room and ran down the halls, she thought she was going in the same direction Bruce had gone but before she even turned the corner, she collapsed to the floor and pounded her fists against the hard wood. If she broke her hand, she didn't care. Why? Why could nothing ever go right for those two? They were such good people, Loki had done terrible things in the past but he was a different person when it came to Thor. Why did fate seem intent of tearing them both apart? 

"Come on Thor, come on, please please please, don't leave me alone." Loki whispered desperately to Thor but there was no response, there was nothing. Loki squinted when he felt the tears building up in his eyes, he knew he wouldn't get a response. He looked pleadingly at Thor,  
"You promised." His voice was shaking and the tears escaped his eyes, burning as they ran down his cheeks. He leaned his head against Thor's pressing their foreheads together,  
"Come back to me please, please brother.."  
No, not this time, Loki hadn't been to Hel and back just to lose Thor now.

Loki placed his hands over Thor's chest and concentrated, harder than he'd ever done before. His magic enveloped Thor, it was like his brother was absorbing the magic into his body. Loki closed his eyes and focused hard, pouring whatever power he had into Thor. He could feel his brother's damaged ribcage and could feel it start to heal, there were several short clicking sounds of the bones fixing themselves back into place before the sounds stopped shortly after. Loki opened his eyes and he was starting to feel dizzy. He couldn't stop there. Loki kept the magic spreading throughout Thor's body fixing and healing any injuries he sensed. The biggest challenge was his spine. There was more damage there than on his ribs, it was broken in two places, almost shattered. Loki focused all of his magic on Thor's spine, the healing started to take effect as the bone was forced back together. Thor's back went straight again and Loki knew that he'd done it. Loki was incredibly close to passing out but he carried on. His Seidr covered the top of Thor's frame and Loki tried so hard not to cry out from the strain that this was putting on his body, he'd promised Thor that he would be here this time, he would be the one to save him. And he'll be damned if he was going to break another promise to Thor. Loki kept his magic going and achingly slowly, he could see life start to return to his brother's body. 

The frail body began to bulk. Starting from his shoulders and leading down his arms, the muscles expanded, the hollowness in Thor's cheeks went away and his cheekbones were no longer visible. The magic ran down his chest and over his abs and down his legs, it completley covered him. The strain became too much for Loki to take, he was going to pass out if he didn't stop. Loki stopped pushing and he collapsed to his knees breathing heavily and leaning against the bed frame for support. It took what felt like hours before Loki could actually stand up again but he was so glad that he did. He'd managed it, he'd healed his brother completely. The king of Asgard was in all of his former glory, golden, muscled, perfect. Loki's tears didn't stop at the sight of his brother. When he touched Thor's arm he smiled at the warmth now flowing through his veins.  
Loki's smile vanished when he noticed that Thor still wasn't breathing and his body was completley still. Panic stabbed through him again, Had he been to late to save Thor? Loki pulled Thor into his lap and held him in his arms, he kissed his brother's forehead and pressed their foreheads together,  
"Please brother, won't you wake up?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry!!! One more chapter to go!! Maybe two I haven't decided yet but stay tuned:)


	10. Chapter 10: Keep holding on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though his body has healed, Thor still hasn't awoken and whilst his friends are grieving, Loki's hope doesn't fade that his brother will come back to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter guys!!! I've absolutely loved writing this story and thank you all so much for keeping up with it. Enjoy the last chapter! :)

Thor awoke with a gasp, the burning sensation he felt in his chest was what woke him up. The longer he was awake, the worse the burning became. He wanted to cry out for help. His friends, Loki, anyone. But everywhere was pitch black, it was like a void, an endless path of nothingness. Thor couldn't see anything, he remembered being in the hospital with Loki and the Guardians and he remembered them trying to save him. He remembered pain, lots of pain. And blood as well, he remembered Loki begging him to hold on. Is this why he couldn't see anything now.  
_"Am..am I dead?"_ He asked aloud, though no one could hear him.

The night seemed to go on forever, the minutes dragging along to feel like hours. When morning finally came, there was no sun yet there was no rain either, the skies stayed a crisp clear white. It was like the world had gone completely quiet, like the universe knew what had happened. No one in the house had slept overnight, but no words were spoken. It was simply silent. 

The lounge was also quiet, the air thick with grief. Not a single word was spoken between them through the night, everyone's eyes were red either from crying or from exhaustion. Quill was slumped beside Gamora, arms around eachother. Drax had his arms around Mantis as she found it impossible to stop crying once she could feel what everyone else was feeling. Brunhilde had come into the room a while after Banner did and as soon as she came in she broke down, she dismissed anyone's attempts at comforting her. After a while she fled into the kitchen and locked the door behind her. The sound of breaking glass bottles could be heard not long later. Rocket had placed himself in the windowsill once he managed to get Groot to sleep. It had taken some time to calm Groot down once Banner had told them Thor hadn't made it. He'd never seen Groot cry like that before, it was like watching his own child crying and it broke Rocket's heart even more. 

Rocket just didn't think it was possible, Thor, the strongest person he'd ever known existed, the one who had taken on the power of a dying star, the one who'd managed to stab the Stormbreaker into Thanos' chest when he'd had all six infinity stones, the God of Thunder, had been defeated by a monster. Banner hadn't told them what happened when they all left the room but it had only taken one look to know that Thor didn't make it. 

He didn't cry, he couldn't. He had to be the captain, be strong for everyone else, he could only imagine how Loki was feeling right now, they hadn't seen him all night, after everything they did to save Thor, poor guy, nothing ever seems to turn out alright for them. Rocket had no doubt that Loki would still be with his brother right now, he didn't blame him, if something had ever happened to one of his crew then Rocket wouldn't want to leave them alone either. Rocket stared up at the white skies and could practically feel the cold winter chill just by looking at it.  
"Looks like it's gonna snow."  
His words were the first anyone had spoken in hours.

Many people in the room jumped at the sound of a voice cutting the thick silence. Some gave a nod and others just hummed in agreement. They all jumped again when the door between the lounge and the kitchen unlocked and Brunhilde slid through. Rocket winced when he saw her. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was a mess and she had a cut on her hand, probably from when she broke the glass. She swayed slightly when she walked into the room and she looked around the room but not at anyone in it,  
"I'd better...check on Loki..he's been a while."  
She left the room. Rocket couldn't help it, he followed her, he had to see Thor.

If the Valkyrie saw him, she didn't say anything as they both entered Banner's office. Rocket's chest tightened and he gasped at what he saw, the gobsmacked look on Brunhilde's face told him that she felt the same. Thor was lying still on the bed, but he didn't look the way that Rocket had last seen him, thin, weak, fragile. No, Thor looked..like Thor again. His muscles had returned, his skin had got its colour back, he looked like he did before Vanaheim. But alas, his form was lifeless. Lying to Thor's side was Loki, God he looked rough. He'd very obviously been crying, alot, he looked ill from it. Loki didn't seem to even notice them as they came in. He just kept staring at Thor, nothing else. Brunhilde was the one to break the unnerving silence, she approached him cautiously,  
"Loki...Maybe you should come away now.." 

"No."

His immediate response made them flinch. Rocket stepped forward,  
"We get it man, believe me we do, you don't want to leave him, I understand that. But you have to understand, he's gon"-"DON'T!!" Loki interrupted him. He finally looked at them and shook his head,  
"He's not dead." He said much calmer. Brunhilde honestly looked like she might cry again. Rocket was finding this harder and harder. The racoon hopped on the bed and placed a hand on Loki's shoulder  
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He said this hoping that Loki would understand. Denial wouldn't change anything, he knew that better than anybody. He stopped when he felt the shoulder shaking, Loki's body shook with sobs,  
"I healed him. He's exactly like he was before, I fixed everything, so why won't he wake up!!" He shouted that last part as if he were desperate. Rocket looked away from him and closed his eyes. This was just painful to watch. After taking a deep breath he continued rubbing Loki's shoulder to offer whatever comfort he could.

Loki couldn't control his sobbing, he'd been crying on and off all night. He was probably a mess but he didn't care. That didn't matter now, nothing did compared to Thor. Gods why was this taking so long? Why wouldn't he wake up? He could tell that the racoon was trying to comfort him, trying to make him understand that his brother was dead, but he didn't get, no one did, his brother wasn't gone, he couldn't be gone, Loki had fixed him, just like he said he would. So why wasn't Thor waking up? Maybe...he really had been too late to save him.  
Rocket continued to offer comfort and Brunhilde came over as well, she was about to reach out and take Loki's hand, but then Loki was up, he flung himself off the bed, batted their hands away, Loki snapped,  
"NO!! NO, THEY CAN'T HAVE HIM!! I WON'T LET THEM TAKE HIM AWAY!! HE'S MY BROTHER!! ....I..I healed him..I fixed whatever damage that _thing_ did to his body, so why? Why won't he just wake up? Was I really too late? Is the world really so cruel to take away the only reason I have for living!?" 

Thor looked around the blackness trying to follow the voice. He knew who it was as well, Loki. His brother was right next to him even though Thor couldn't see him. He wanted to comfort Loki, tell him he was here, but he couldn't, he was dead. He could only listen to his brother's pleading voice and suddenly the burning was ten times worse. Thor clutched his chest, this hurt even more than when he felt Loki healing his body, fixing the broken bones especially his spine, Thor was just glad that Loki wasn't able to see his reaction to that.

The weight of Loki's words crushed down on Brunhilde and Rocket like an ant under a boot. Brunhilde hid her own tears as she pulled the broken trickster into a fierce hug. He didn't return it at first, he just let her hold onto him, the embrace soon compelled him and he let it all out, crying on the Valkyrie's shoulder. Rocket allowed his first tear to fall then. He joined the embrace and Brunhilde was more than willing to let him in. The cries subsided after a while but none of them let go. Neither could say anything that hadn't already been said, or anything that didn't need to be said. So they just stayed in silence though Rocket could hear Loki whisper under his breath "why?" And "Please." And "he promised he would hold on." It only made them hold him tighter.

If Thor's heart was beating, it would be broken to pieces by this point, hearing his brother grieve, Thor had been through that over and over again over the last few years with Loki. He knew that the feeling of losing someone you love so much was the worst feeling in the world and now Loki was feeling that for him. He couldn't stay here, he couldn't die yet, it was like Loki said, he made a promise. The burning was becoming unbearable and Thor keeled over from it. He held his hands over his heart and tried to calm it down. His heart. Thor stood back up again, his heart, that's what the burn was, his want to go back was causing the burning, he wanted to live. Thor channeled the pain and concentrated, willing his heart to beat.  
_"I'm coming back to you brother."_

They all jumped simultaneously when loud beep echoed throughout the room. Pulling away, they briefly looked around, confused as to what had made that sound. Seconds later the sound was there again and this time Rocket saw what it was. It was the machine that Thor was attached to. That's where the beep had come from. After another few seconds the machine beeped again. On the screen, the line had been flat but when the machine beeped, it showed it on the screen. It was the sign of a heartbeat. Rocket's eyes lit up and he scrambled over to the machine. He placed both paws on either side of it and looked at it in disbelief. _No freaking way._ Brunhilde and Loki looked curiously at him,  
"What is that?" Brunhilde asked. Rocket slowly turned his head to them, when his eyes finally met theirs he said,  
"Go and get Banner, now."  
The snow began to fall.

Brunhilde bolted from the room in search of the scientist, he wasn't in the living room. Actually now that she thought about it, Banner hadn't been there when she came in last night. Did he leave? The Valkyrie searched the house but she couldn't see him anywhere. But a sudden loud roar that came from outside gave away her friend's hiding place. 

She left the house and wandered around the back and just as she thought, there was the hulk. He was destroying the trees surrounding the house, smashing them with his large fists and taking each one down with an angry roar. She watched him for a while until eventually, there weren't any more trees within his reach that he could destroy, or have the will to run into the woods to finish taking his anger out on them. But Hulk let out a resigned whimper and slumped on one of the stumps. _poor guy,_ The hulk must've known what had happened and he wanted to come out and see for himself. 

Brunhilde knew it was best to approach him carefully. _Baby steps_ She practically tip toed up to him before holding out her hand,  
"Hey there, big guy" She said tenderly but it still seemed to startle him. Hulk looked at her for a moment before bowing his head again. Valkyrie came and kneeled in front of him but he didn't look at her. The two sat in silence for a short while until Brunhilde looked up as the strangest sounds started coming from the Hulk. His shoulders were slightly shaking and it sounded like he was whimpering. She knew he probably didn't want her to see this or he would've show his face, but the Valkyrie very gently tilted his head up. She felt like he punched her in the gut when he met her gaze, streaked down his left cheek, was a single tear. 

The hulk was crying. 

Brunhilde was honestly lost for words, she didn't know that the hulk could actually cry. She'd seen him angry, frustrated, sometimes even happy, but never sad, not like this.   
"Thor gone." Hulk mumbled and Brunhilde felt like she was staring into the eyes of an innocent child who didn't understand the concept of death. But his words reminded him of the reason why she came out here in the first place. She tried her best to smile,  
"Listen big guy, do you want to help Thor?" Hulk looked instantly confused. She tried to explain this better,  
"Umm..Thor is...stuck. Yeah, stuck. He's trying to come back, but he's stuck and we think that Banner may be able to help him." She braced herself for the rejection of letting banner out, but the hulk just stared at her.  
"Banner save Thor?" He asked, head tilted slightly in confusion. She nodded enthusiastically, he was getting it. She stood up again and held out her hand, waiting for him to grab it. He continued to stare for many moments before standing and placing his palm into hers,  
"Hulk help friend."

Valkyrie and Bruce wasted no time in running over to his office where Rocket was still looking at the machine and Loki just looked incredibly confused and concerned. Rocket quickly pulled Banner over to him to show him what he was looking at. Banner's expression was soon matching Rocket's. Loki couldn't take this anymore,  
"What the Hel is going on?!" He snapped. Falling out of their shock, the doctor and the racoon turned their heads to face Loki.  
"We've got a heartbeat." Banner whispered out. Loki suddenly couldn't breathe. He clamped both hands on Bruce's shoulders in a vice like grip,  
"What?" He asked.  
Banner tried so hard not to smile. His elation was catching him quickly, ignoring the fact that Loki was actually hurting him. He motioned to the screen behind them,  
"See this? This machine monitors Thor's heartbeat. It stopped when Thor's heart stopped but now it's there. The heartbeat is slow, but it's definitely there."  
Loki's eyes widened and he stared at Bruce for another second before turning his gaze to his brother. His heart was beating, Thor was still fighting. Loki couldn't even express how he was feeling in that moment it was like his emotions crashed together inside his head causing him to feel them all at once. And like that he was back at Thor's side, holding his cold hands. Hope returned to Loki, it was burning inside him and Loki couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his face. He smiled through his tears, even when his heart stopped beating, Thor continued to fight. Brunhilde came to Thor's other side and asked,  
"So what do we do?"

The snow came down in sheets, covering the city with white. The world stopped again. After the rest of the Guardians had been informed of what was going on, they were all wide awake and asking what they could do to help. Quill, Drax and Brunhilde all worked together in lifting Thor from the hospital bed. Once they had moved him, they began carrying him back up the stairs. Loki was in front of them, he opened the doors that got in their way and when they reached the top, Loki opened the door to their bedroom. Once they got him in, they laid him gently down on the bed. Gamora came in with a bucket of water which she placed beside the bed and then she went to stand with her group. Rocket and Banner were the last to come in and the Guardians left them to it closing the door behind them but not before Quill demanded that they were kept up to date. Loki kneeled by Thor's side and placed a hand over his heart, it was still beating slowly. "I've got you brother, you're safe, I healed you, just please keep holding on,"

_Keep holding on? Of course brother! Didn't I promise you that I would?_

Loki tore the rest of the fabric from Thor's shirt so that it would come off completely and he dipped a rag into the bucket of water beside them. Banner lifted Thor so that Loki could clean he dry blood that had managed to get onto his back and on his sides from where Brunhilde had cut him open. When that was done he continued to run the wet towel over his brother, mostly to see if it would cause some kind of reaction, he whispered,  
"He shouldn't be this still." Banner laid Thor back down and moved to the other side of the bed. Loki dipped the towel back into the water, the water turning slightly red when he squeezed it and he continued. When he was done they took a step back and they just looked at Thor. They continued to stare until Loki said,  
"Maybe I was too late to save him." His voice came out in another whisper. Banner shook his head, though Loki didn't notice,  
"No, you weren't, I can already feel his pulse getting stronger, just keep listening to his heart."  
Bruce picked up the bucket and turned around to leave, Rocket saw that as his key to leave as well. Before he left, he glanced at the two over his shoulder, a small smile came on to his face and he felt the sudden urge to go and hug Groot.

Loki stayed with Thor, he was leaning over his body, his hope was boundless at this moment, Thor was in the best place right now, Loki didn't want him to wake up in a hospital bed, he wanted his brother to wake up here. Minutes passed and there was still no change,  
"Keep listening to his heart." Banner had said. Loki placed a hand on Thor's chest, the heartbeat was there, slightly faster than before. Loki climbed onto the bed and lay next to Thor, but he placed his head on Thor's chest. He could hear it. Like a very slow train.

Two days passed and Thor still hadnt woken up, the snow continued to fall to the point where no one could even leave the house. Loki didn't dare move, he didn't sleep, didn't eat, he just waited. The exquisite sight of the snow outside, it only made him hope more. He had many fond memories of the snow. It rarely snowed on Asgard but when it did during their childhood, they would play out in the snow all day no matter how many times their mother told them to come inside. Loki remembered laughing alot back then, he remembered Thor being happy, back when everything was right. The snow was always beautiful. He hoped that this snow was for Thor, that it was some kind of message. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and Brunhilde and Mantis peeped in,  
"Alright if we come in Lackey?" Brunhilde asked, though Loki didn't know why she bothered asking, she would come in anyway. She did. Her and Mantis came and sat beside Thor, across from Loki. He knew why they were here, the same reason why everyone else had been coming in and out over the last two days. "His heartbeat is getting stronger, but he remains still." Loki muttered and both girls slumped back in their chairs.  
Actually come to think of it, why was Mantis here? He understood Valkyrie's presence but Mantis?

It was like the strange woman read his thoughts because she looked to him and spoke,  
"Would you mind if I tried something?" She asked slowly. Loki looked at her with curiosity and mild distaste.  
"Like what?" He asked unsure. Mantis stood so she was leaning over Thor's head,  
"Thor's heart has been growing stronger again, I thought that maybe if I could hear him, feel what he is feeling, then we may get a better understanding of how to help him."  
Loki was truly stunned. He'd only spoken briefly with her before and from what hed heard she had about the same intelligence and maturity level as the hulk. But what she said, that wasn't a bad idea. Loki spent several minutes thinking it over before giving his consent. He stayed close by just in case. Mantis pressed her palm to Thor's forehead.

Thor's body was screaming at him to stop. To stop and just let go, he wasn't sure how long he'd been doing this for but the burning didn't stop, in fact it was getting worse, Thor knew that if the pain was getting worse then that can only mean that his plan was working. But he was so tired, he could feel his body getting weaker the more he tried and he felt extremely close to stopping. _No. I can't. Must...get back..._

"Can you find him, what's happening?" Loki asked. Mantis gasped as if something had startled her but then she looked at Loki smiling,  
"Say something else."  
Loki's brow furrowed,  
"Like what?"  
Mantis' smile grew. Loki approached her,  
"Mantis what's happening?"

_That's it brother, keep talking, let me find you._

"He can hear you. He's following your voice."  
Loki's heart stopped and his body froze,  
"You...you can hear him? Can you hear him Mantis?!"  
Mantis was grinning from ear to ear, she nodded,  
"He is scared, something pains him, I cannot tell what. He's trying to find you. He is happy that you're here."  
Loki took shuddering breaths in and out, he could feel the tears but they weren't from grief, he was happy. Thor was trying, Thor wasn't giving up, he wanted to live. He took Thor's hands,  
"Just keep trying brother don't give up! I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, okay and neither are you so just keep your heart beating!...I love you Thor, please don't give up now."  
Loki looked to Mantis,  
"What do you feel now?" Mantis removed her hand from Thor's forehead, she twisted around so that she was facing him,  
"He loves you too."

Loki gasped when he felt Thor's chest rise under their hands. His eyes were still closed but Loki didn't imagine it, Thor just breathed. He did it again, and again. Brunhilde decided that it was best to leave them alone and she didn't have to tell Mantis, she had the same thought. They both left the room quietly though Loki payed them no attention. Soon Loki didn't have to place his head against Thor's chest to hear his heart. He could hear it now, it was strong. Loki lay back down anyway and just listened like Banner had told him to. He heard Thor breathing, he felt Thor shift a little, Thor whimpered as he moved. Loki tried as hard as he could not to cry in that moment. He finally pulled away and sat up, he pulled his brother into his arms and just waited.

Thor shifted again, this time it was his head, Loki caressed the side of his head to calm him, no doubt he was probably confused as to what was going on. Thor's body did seem to relax and he went completley still again, but a second later, Thor opened his eyes. Loki felt the tears come again and he didn't even bother stopping them. Thor moved his eyes all around the room, until his gaze finally landed on his brother. He recognised him instantly and smiled at him although the smile dropped when he saw that his brother was crying. Thor still couldn't move his arms and legs much so he asked,  
"Loki?" His voice cracked and it sounded like a whisper. Loki smiled but continued to let the tears fall and he held Thor tighter,  
"There you are." He whispered and he kept repeating the words over and over again. Thor heard him and he could feel his eyes burning with tears, he knew what he had to do. He wrapped his shaking arms around his brother's middle and moved in closer,  
"I'm here. I'm here." 

When nightfall came, Loki finally got the Guardians to leave them, they had been here since Thor woke up all cheering and laughing with relief and Thor had smiled and laughed through all if it though he was too tired to shout and cheer as well. Brunhilde and Bruce had hugged him in unison and Thor accepted graciously. They stayed all day and when it looked like Thor was getting tired out, Loki began clearing them out. When Loki shut the door Thor was already falling asleep,  
"Thank you." He whispered. Loki simply nodded and curled up next to his brother. Thor noticed that there was something on Loki's mind,  
"What is it brother?" He asked placing his arm around him, Loki looked up at him like he was about to deny something being wrong, but when he saw the look on Thor's face, he couldn't hide it. He hid his face in Thor's chest,  
"I thought you were dead." He whispered. Thor understood, he knew how that felt. He let out a chuckle and pulled Loki in closer,  
"Well brother, I couldn't leave just yet could I? I had a promise to keep for you."  
Loki let out a laugh as well, though he still sounded sad. Thor moved his head down to whisper in Loki ear,  
"I'll never leave you. That's my other promise." He finished pressing a kiss to the side of his brother's head. Loki smiled at the sentiment, his Thor was definitely back. He was here.  
"Look at that brother." Thor said pointing out the window. It was still snowing heavily. And that definatley made loki smile. That's how they fell asleep that night, holding eachother close and watching the snow fall around their home. Loki's home was right here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end!! I really hope you liked this story. I'll be back with more soon, thank you so much for reading and leaving kudos and comments  
> :) Bye!!

**Author's Note:**

> So what'd you think of chapter 1. Not sure when Chapter 2 is coming but I am already working on it. Bye:)


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